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SOUTHERN  BRANCH, 

UNIVERSITY  0^  CALIFORNIA, 

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Courtesy  American  Magazine  of  Art 

Washington  Monument,  Washington,  D.C. 


"  As  I  look  out  at  this  monument,  I  see  it  rise  from  that  mound  of  earth,  and 
strike  up  into  the  heavens.  It  stands  in  our  national  capital  as  the  uplifted  arm 
of  a  free  people  rising  to  the  heavens  as  a  national  pledge,  that  we  who  have  had 
the  advantages  of  free  institutions,  that  we  who  have  in  our  hearts  ideals  of  liberty 
and  justice,  will  stand  firm  as  stone  and  pledge  our  eternal  loyalty  to  those  ideals, 
to  those  mysterious  things  which  go  to  make  up  a  democracy.  It  is  that  spirit 
that  makes  America."  —  Franklin  K.  Lane. 


RURAL    EDUCATION    SERIES 

Edited  by  Harold  W.  Foght 

PRESIDENT  SOUTH  DAKOTA  TEACHERS  COLLEGE 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

AND   RURAL  LIFE 


BY 


ARTHUR   W.    DUNN 

SPECIALIST    IN    CIVIC    EDUCATION,    UNITED    STATES 

BUREAU    OF    EDUCATION;     AUTHOR   OF 

"THE     COMMUNITY     AND 

THE    CITIZEN  " 


ZSBS6' 


D.    C    HEATH    &   CO.,    PUBLISHERS 

BOSTON  NEW  YORK  CHICAGO 


Copyright,  1920, 

By  D.  C.  Heath  &  Co. 

2l0 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 


This  book,  like  the  author's  earlier  one,  The  Community  and  the 
Citizen,  is  a  "community  civics"  text.  Two  purposes  led  to  the 
preparation  of  this  second  volume.  The  first  was  to  produce  a 
text  that  would  meet  the  needs  of  pupils  and  teachers  who  live  out- 
side of  the  environment  of  the  large  city.  Training  for  citizenship 
in  a  democracy  is  a  fundamentally  identical  process  in  all  com- 
munities, whether  urban  or  rural.  But,  if  it  really  functions  in  the 
life  of  the  citizen,  this  process  must  consist"  largely  in  deriving  edu- 
cational values  from  the  actual  civic  situations  in  which  he  normally 
finds  himself.  Moreover,  instruction  that  relates  to  matters  that 
lie  beyond  immediate  experience  must  nevertheless  be  interpreted 
in  terms  of  that  experience  if  it  is  really  to  have  meaming.  At  least 
half  of  the  young  citizens  of  America  live  in  an  environment  that  is 
essentially  rural.  Hence  their  need  for  civics  instruction  that  takes 
its  point  of  departure  in,  and  refers  back  to,  a  body  of  experience 
that  differs  in  many  ways  from  that  of  the  urban  citizen. 

This  does  not  imply  that  urban  conditions  should  be  ignored  in 
the  civic  education  of  the  rural  citizen.^  On  the  contrary,  one  of  the 
things  that  every  citizen  should  be  led  to  appreciate  is  the  inter- 
dependence of  country  and  city  in  a  unified  national  life.  In  the 
present  volume  emphasis  is  given  to  this  interdependence.  For  this 
reason,  and  because  of  the  fundamental  principles  which  have  con- 
trolled the  development  of  the  text,  it  is  believed  that  the  book  may 
perform  a  distinct  service  even  in  city  schools. 

The  second  purpose  in  undertaking  the  present  book  has  been  to 
make  as  obvious  as  possible  the  elements  which,  in  the  author's 
judgment,  characterize  "community  civics"  and  give  it  vitality. 
The  Community  and  the  Citizen  was  a  pioneer  among  texts  that  have 
sought  to  vitalize  the  study  of  government  and  citizenship.  The 
term  "community  civics"  became  current  only  at  a  later  time  to 


IV  INTRODUCTORY   NOTE 

designate  the  "new  civics"  whichf  that  book  represented.  It  seems 
to  the  author,  however,  that  many  teachers  and  others  have  seized 
upon  some  of  the  more  incidental,  even  though  important,  features 
of  the  "new  civics"  without  apparently  recognizing  its  really  vital 
characteristics. 

For  example,  the  "new  civics"  performed  a  real  service  in  giving 
emphasis  to  the  study  of  the  "local  community,"  which  was  being 
sadly  neglected  ten  or  fifteen  years  ago.  It  was  this  emphasis, 
doubtless,  that  gave  rise  to  the  name  "community  civics."  But 
"local  study,"  even  though  labelled  "community  civics,"  may  be, 
and  often  is,  entirely  lacking  in  vitalizing  features.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  vitalizing  methods  that  should  characterize  community 
civics  may  be  applied  to  the  study  of  our  "national  community," 
and  even  of  the  embryonic  "world  community,"  —  and  should 
be  so  applied  in  any  "community  civics"  that  is  worthy  of  a  place 
in  our  schools  in  this  critical  period  of  national  and  world  history. 
The  real  significance  of  the  term  "community  civics"  is  to  be  found 
in  its  application  to  an  interpretation  of  the  community-character 
of  national  and  international  life  equally  with  that  of  town  or  neighbor- 
hood. 

Another  service  that  community  civics  performed  was  in  intro- 
ducing certain  elements  of  social  or  "sociological"  study  into  grades 
as  low  as  the  grammar  school.  This  has  sometimes  led  to  the  de- 
scription of  community  civics  as  "elementary  sociology."  The 
Community  and  the  Citizen  was  perhaps  the  first  "civics"  textbook 
to  include  such  "sociological"  material.  So  far  as  that  book  is  con- 
cerned, at  least,  the  "sociological"  material  was  included  primarily 
to  afford  a  viewpoint  from  which  the  better  to  interpret  government 
and  citizenship.  This  point  seems  often  to  be  missed,  with  the  re- 
sult that  in  some  schools  we  find  a  more  or  less  vitalized  "social 
study"  labelled  "community  civics,"  followed  by  a  formal  study  of 
government  that  shows  no  obvious,  organic  relation  to  the  earher 
study.  ,■  Whatever  else  "community  civics"  may  accomplish, 
one  of  its  foremost  aims  should  be  to  make  government,  including 
that  of  the  nation,  mean  something  to  the  young  citizen.  In  the  present 
book  the  author  has  endeavored  to  keep  this  aim  prominent  in  the 
mind  of  the  teacher.     It  is  hoped  that  the  organic  relation  of  the  last 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE  V 

few  chapters,  which  deal  explicitly  -with  governmental  mechanism 
and  operation,  to  the  earlier  chapters  will  be  obvious. 

The  underlying,  vitalizing  features  of  community  civics  may  be 
summed  up  as : 

1,  The  demonstration  to  the  young  citizen,  by  reference  to  his  own 
observation  and  experience,  of  the  meaning  of  his  community  life  {local 
and  national),  and  of  government  in  its  relation  to  that  life; 

2.  The  cultivation  of  certain  habits,  ideals,  and  attitudes  essential 
to  effective  participation  in  that  life  through  government  and  otherwise. 

The  aim  of  the  following  text  is  to  fix  in  the  pupil's  consciousness  a 
few  essential  ideas,  which  will  help  to  determine  his  ideals  and  atti- 
tudes, by  a  judicious  use  of  facts,  which  will  thereby  be  more  readily 
remembered  and  understood.  "The  most  important  element  of 
success  in  community  life  ...  is  team  work;  and  team  work  de- 
pends, first  of  all,  upon  a  common  purpose"  (see  page  i).  The 
controlling  ideas  throughout  the  following  chapters  are: 

■     I.   The  common  purposes  in  our  community  life  ; 

2.  Our  interdependence  in  attaining  these  common  purposes ; 

3.  The  consequent  necessity  for  cooperation  (team  work) ; 

4.  Government  as  a  means  of  securing  team  work  for  the  common 
good. 

These  ideas  are  set  up  in  the  first  few  chapters  and  exemplified 
in  the  remaining  chapters.  They  are  easily  grasped  by  young 
citizens  when  demonstrated  by  reference  to  their  own  observation  and 
experience,  which  the  text  and  the  accompanying  topics  seek  as  far 
as  possible  to  compel.  The  last  few  chapters  contain  an  analysis 
of  our  governmental  mechanism  which  seeks  to  answer  the  ques- 
tion, How  far  does  our  government  provide  the  organization,  the 
leadership,  and  the  control  over  leadership  necessary  to  secure 
the  team  work  which  the  preceding  chapters  have  shown  to  be 
essential  ? 

The  present  volume  is  larger  than  The  Community  and  the  Citizen. 
The  author  believes  that  this  is  an  advantage,  especially  for  pupils 
in  communities  where  supplementary  materials  are  not  so  easily 
available.     The  increased  length  is  due  chiefly  to  the  Hberal  incor- 


VI  INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 

poration  of  concrete  illustrative  and  explanatory  matter.  Young 
students  need  larger  textbooks,  provided  the  additional  matter 
clothes  the  skeleton  with  living  flesh. 

Whether  based  on  this  textbook  or  some  other,  however,  com- 
munity civics  cannot  be  successfully  taught  if  it  is  made  primarily 
a  textbook  study.  The  word  "demonstration"  has  been  used  ad- 
visedly in  the  paragraphs  above  as  applied  to  the  ideas  to  be  taught. 
The  text  sets  up  ideas,  interprets  and  exemplifies  them;  but  "dem- 
onstration" can  be  made  only  as  the  pupils  draw  upon  their  own 
observation  and  experience.  Hence,  numerous  suggestive  topics  are 
interspersed  throughout  to  divert  attention  from  the  text  and  to 
direct  it  to  the  actualities  of  the  pupils'  experience.  Even  the  topics 
should  not  be  followed  literally  in  every  case,  but  should  be  diver- 
sified to  meet  the  needs  and  opportunities  of  the  occasion.  But  to 
"omit"  such  studies  as  suggested  by  the  topics  is  to  negative  the 
value  of  community  civics. 

The  successful  teacher  will  seek  to  extend  the  pupil's  opportunity 
to  participate  in  group  activities  both  within  the  school  and  in  the 
community  outside,  and  will  make  the  fullest  possible  use  of  such 
activities  both  as  a  means  of  demonstrating  the  operation  of  the 
fundamental  principles  of  civic  life,  and  as  a  means  of  cultivating 
"habits,  ideals,  and  attitudes."  "Training  for  citizenship  through 
service"  is  an  essential  factor  in  community  civics. 

The  present  text  is  designed  for  use  in  the  grammar  grades  or 
in  the  first  year  of  the  high  school  (the  junior  high  school  grades). 
Practice  varies  with  respect  to  the  particular  grade  in  which  community 
civics  is  taught.  Local  conditions  must  determine  the  matter.  The 
trend  is  now  strongly  for  at  least  a  half  year  of  civics  instruction  in 
each  of  the  three  grades  in  question.  It  is  the  belief  of  the  author 
that  the  course  covered  in  the  present  book  could  profitably  be  ex- 
tended, in  many  schools,  over  both  seventh  and  eighth  grades,  either 
a  half  year  in  each  grade,  or  on  alternate  days  with  history  through- 
out each  grade.  In  such  cases,  it  is  suggested  that  the  first  ten 
chapters  constitute  the  basis  for  the  work  of  the  seventh  grade,  and 
the  remainder  that  for  the  eighth  grade.  An  outline  suggesting  a 
vital  coordination  between  the  civics  and  the  history  of  these  grades, 
and  of  particular  service  in  the  seventh  grade,  is  given  in  United  States 


INTRODUCTORY   NOTE  VU 

Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin,  1919,  No.  50,  Part  3  (a  report  on 
Civic  Education  for  the  Schools  of  Memphis,  Tenn.). 

It  may  be  added  that  the  civics  instruction  in  the  grammar  grades, 
or  in  the  junior  high  school,  will  be  vastly  more  effective  if  it  is  pre- 
ceded in  the  six  elementary  grades  by  some  such  course  as  that  out- 
lined in  Citizenship  in  School  oid  Out  (Dunn  and  Harris,  published 
by  D.  C.  Heath  &  Company). 

A  list  of  "Readings"  is  appended  to  each  of  the  following  chapters. 
While  it  is  not  expected  that  pupils  in  the  grades  for  which  the  book 
is  intended  will  do  a  great  deal  of  reading  outside  of  the  text,  an 
abundance  of  illustrative  material  is  desirable  and  much  more  easily 
available,  even  for  rural  schools,  than  is  often  appreciated.  Let  the 
pupils  iise  their  government,  in  this  connection,  as  freely  as  possible. 
A  very  large  part  of  the  references  given  are  to  governmental  publi- 
cations, many  of  which  can  be  obtained  free  of  cost  directly  from  the 
departments  issuing  them,  and  all  of  which  can  be  had  for  a  nominal 
cost  from  the  Superintendent  of  Documents,  Government  Printing 
Office,  Washington,  D.C.  Useful  publications  of  the  state  govern- 
ment and  of  state  institutions  can  usually  be  had  for  the  asking.  In 
ordering  from  the  Superintendent  of  Documents  the  money  must  be 
sent  in  advance  (stamps  are  not  accepted).  Lists  of  publications 
with  the  prices  may  be  obtained  from  the  Superintendent  of  Docu- 
ments, or  from  the  several  Departments  of  the  Government. 

Frequent  reference  is  made  to  Lessons  in  Community  and  National 
Life.  These  are  issued  in  three  pamphlets  (Series  A,B,and  C)  by  the 
United  States  Bureau  of  Education,  at  15  cents  per  pamphlet.  They 
contain  a  large  amount  of  illustrative  material.  A  very  few  books 
are  referred  to  in  certain  chapters  because  of  their  especial  value 
when  obtainable.  Among  these  are  two  collections  of  patriotic 
selections  valuable  because  of  their  emphasis  upon  national  ideals  — 
Long's  American  Patriotic  Prose  (D.  C.  Heath  &  Company),  and 
Foerster  and  Pierson's  American  Ideals  (Houghton  Mifflin  Company). 
Other  similar  collections  will  be  found  useful. 

The  illustrations  of  the  book,  with  comparatively  few  exceptions, 
are  from  photographs  furnished  by  various  departments  of  the  United 
States  Government. 

ARTHUR  W.  DUNN. 


EDITOR'S   INTRODUCTION 

Rural  schools,  and  schools  whose  pupils  have  largely  a  back- 
ground of  rural  experience,  have  not  done  as  much  as  they  should 
towards  training  for  citizenship.  This  is  largely  because  the  text- 
books have  failed  to  interpret  citizenship  and  government  in  terms  of 
the  actual  experience  of  such  pupils,  or  to  stimulate  team  work  and 
leadership  in  communities  with  a  distinctly  rural  background.  More- 
over, in  city  and  rural  schools  ahke,  there  has  been  failure  to  em- 
phasize the  interdependence  of  rural  and  urban  communities  in  a 
single  national  enterprise.  Community  Civics  and  Rural  Life  is 
planned  to  meet  these  deficiencies. 

There  has  been  too  much  talking  about  citizenship  in  school,  and 
too  little  living  it  from  day  to  day.  Training  far  citizenship  necessi- 
tates its  daily  practice  in  school  and  out.  In  the  hands  of  an  able 
teacher.  Community  Civics  and  Rural  Life  should  point  the  way  to 
real  community  living,  both  now  and  in  the  future.  It  should  teach 
the  pupils  what  their  real  civic  responsibilities  are  as  well  as  their 
civic  opportunities  —  and  assist  them  to  embrace  them  when  they 
come.  Children  so  trained  will  learn  to  respect,  now  and  later,  the 
rights  of  their  neighbors,  and  will  become  as  fair  in  their  deahngs 
with  the  government  as  with  their  fellowmen.  They  will  furnish 
their  communities  with  the  right  kind  of  leaders,  unselfish  and  public 
spirited.  When  the  time  calls,  they  will  be  ready  to  accept  and  shed  a 
new  dignity  upon  the  old  positions  of  school  trustee,  highway  engineer, 
sanitary  inspector,  township  supervisor,  county  commissioner,  or  the 
more  conspicuous  offices  of  state  and  national  government.  Or  as 
plain  citizens  they  will  lend  these  officials  their  active  support  for 
community  and  national  betterment. 

HAROLD  W.  FOGHT. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 
I. 

II. 


III. 
IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

XI. 

XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX. 

XX. 

XXI. 

XXII. 


Our  Common  Pxirposes  in  Commxinity  Lite  .  .  i 
How  We  Depend  upon  One  Another  in  Community 

Life 12 

The  Need  for  Cooperation  in  Community  Life          .  24 

Why  We  Have  Government 40 

What  Is  Citizenship? S3 

What  Is  Our  Community? 58 

Our  National  Community 67 

A  World  Community 86 

The  Home 98 

Why  Government  Helps  in  Home  Making  .        .        .112 

Earning  a  Living 123 

Government  as  a  Means  of  Cooperation  in  Agricul- 
ture          141 

Thrift 165 

The  Relation  between  the  People  and  the  Land  .  190 
Conserving  Our  Natural  Resources  .  .  .  .210 
Protection  of  Property  and  Property  Rights    .        .231 

Roads  and  Transportation 248 

Commut^ication 272 

Education  ,        . 286 

The  Community's  Health 309 

Social,  .Esthetic,  and  Spiritual  Wants  .  .  .329 
Dependent,    Defective,    and    Delinquent    Members 

OF  the  Community 35° 

Teamwork  in  Taxation   .        .        .        . '      .        .        .  364 

How  We  Govern  OtniSELVES   .        .        .        .        •        •  376 


xii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXV.     Our  Local  Governments 395 

XXVI.     Our  State  Governments •     .  419 

XXVII.     Our  National  Gov'ernments 443 

Appendix  —  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States         .        .  475 

Index 491 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

CHAPTER  I 
OUR  COMMON  PURPOSES  IN   COMMUNITY  LIFE 

The  most  important  element  of  success  in  community  life, 
as  in  a  ball  game,  a  family,  or  a  school,  is  team  work;  and  team 
work  depends,  first  of  all,  upon  a  common  purpose,  r^^g^^  ^^rk 
Our  nation  gave  an  example  of  teani  work  during  the  and  common 
recent  war  such  as  is  seldom  seen ;  and  this  was  be-  P""^?"^^^ 
cause  every  member  of  the  nation  was  keenly  intent  on  winning. 
We  may  see  the  same  thing  in  our  school  when  a  Christmas 
entertainment  is  being  planned,  when  an  athletic  tournament 
is  approaching,  or  when  some  other  school  activity  is  under 
way  in  which  all  are  deeply  interested.     It  is  often  illustrated 
in  our  town,  or  rural  neighborhood,  when  some  important  en- 
terprise is  on  foot,  such  as  the  building  of  a  new  railroad  into 
town,  a  Red  Cross  "drive,"  a  county  fair,  or  the  construction 
of  a  much 'needed  new  schoolhouse. 

All  communities  have  common  purposes,  although  they  are 
not  always  as  clearly  defined  as  when  our  nation  was  at  war, 
or  as  in  the  other  cases  mentioned  in  the  preceding  Recognition 
paragraph.     Sometimes  the  people  of  a  community,  of  common 
or  a  large  portion  of  them,  seem  to  be  wholly  un-  P'"'P°^®^ 
conscious  that  a  common  purpose  exists.     This  may  be  true 
even  in  a  family  or  in  a  school.     And  when  this  happens,  the 
effect  is  the  same  as  if  there  were  no  common  purpose.    No 


2  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

club  or  athletic  team  can  be  successful  unless  its  members  have 
a  common  purpose  and  understand  it.  In  so  far  as  our  com- 
munities are  imperfect  —  and  none  of  them  is  perfect  —  it  is 
largely  because  their  members  fail  to  recognize  or  understand 
their  common  purposes. 

People  in  communities  have  common  purposes  because  they 
have  the  same  wants.     This  may  not  at  first  seem  to  be  true. 

Common  pur-  ^^  ^^  ^^^^^  ^  ^^''S^  ^^'^^^  ^^  ^^^  throngs  of  people 
poses  due  to  hurrying  hither  and  thither,  jostling  one  another, 
commonwan  s  apparently  in  the  greatest  confusion.  We  wonder 
where  they  are  all  going,  what  they  are  doing,  what  they  are 
seeking.  In  rural  communities  or  in  small  towns  there  is  less 
apparent  confusion  than  in  the  bustling  life  of  the  city.  Yet 
even  here  it  is  not  always  easy  to  see  common  purposes  and 
common  interests.  Whether  in  large  or  small  communities, 
we  are  more  likely  to  be  impressed  by  the  variety  of  men's  wants 
and  even  by  the  conflict  of  their  purposes. 

But  no  matter  how  numerous  and  conflicting  our  wants  may 
seem,  they  may  all  be  grouped  in  a  very  few  important  kinds, 
which  are  common  to  all  of  us  alike.  It  will  be  worth  while  to 
test  the  truth  of  this,  because  it  will  help  us  to  see  our  com- 
munity life  in  some  kind  of  order,  and  will  throw  a  flood  of 
light  upon  the  common  purposes  that  control  it. 

For  example,  we  all  want  food,  drink,  and  sleep,  clothing  to 
protect  our  bodies,  and  houses  to  shelter  us.  But  all  these 
p,     .    ,  things  supply  our  physical  wants ;    that  is,  they  re- 

wants:  life  late  to  life  and  health.  Many  of  the  things  that  we 
and  ea  t  ^^  every  day  are  important  because  of  their  relation 
to  our  physical  well-being.  One  reason  why  we  enjoy  out-of- 
door  sports  is  that  they  make  our  blood  tingle  and  give  a  sense 
of  physical  pleasure.  Unless  our  physical  wants  are  provided 
for,  the  other  wants  of  life  cannot  well  be  satisfied.  Good 
health  is  a  priceless  possession. 

Mention  some  things  you  have  done  to-day  for  your  physical  welfare. 


COMMON  PURPOSES  IN   COMMUNITY  LIFE  3 

Another  reason  why  sports  and  games  give  pleasure  is  be- 
cause of  the  association  they  afford  with  other  people.     Associa- 
tion with  others  is  a  second  great  want  which  explains  ^.  , 
many  of  the  things  we  do.     Whatever  may  be  our  association 
other  reasons  for  going  to  school,  it  affords  us  the  ^*   °*  ^^^ 
opportunity  to  meet  and  work  and  play  with  other  boys  and 
girls  to  our  pleasure  and  profit.     One  of  the  objections  often 
raised  against  life  in  the  country  is  the  lack  of  opportunity  for 


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association  with  other  people.  But  life  in  the  country  is  not 
so  isolated  as  it  once  was ;  and  one  may  be  very  much  alone  in 
a  city  crowd,  where  nearly  all  are  strangers  to  one  another, 
and  where  there  is  very  little  real  association  among  individuals. 
City  families  often  live  in  the  same  apartment  house  without 
knowing  one  another. 

What  are  some  things  you  do  especially  for  the  sake  of  companionship? 

While  going  to  school  enables  us  to  associate  with  others,  the 
principal  reason  for  going  is  to  gain  knowledge.     Whether  we 


4  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

always  like  our  studies  or  not,  we  certainly  want  knowledge, 
and  seek  it  in  many  ways.  We  read  the  newspaper  or  maga- 
_.  zine  that  comes  to  the  home.     We  ask  questions 

for  of  parents  and  others  who  have  had  more  experience 

knowledge        ^j^^^^  ^^^     -^^  ^^^^  travel  to  see  new  sights.     We 

examine  with  curiosity  a  new  machine  for  the  farm.  The  dis- 
coveries and  inventions  that  mark  man's  progress  in  civilization 
are  the  result  of  his  unquenchable  thirst  for  knowledge. 

Mention  some  of  the  different  ways  in  which  you  seek  knowledge. 
Mention  some  geographic  and  scientific  discoveries  that  have  been  made 
through  men's  search  for  knowledge. 

What  is  science?     Name  some  sciences. 

Besides  health  and  knowledge  and  association  with  other 
people,  we  want  surroundings  that  are  pleasant  and  beautiful. 
The  want  The  want  for  beauty  is  sometimes  more  neglected 
for  beauty  i\i2i.n  Other  wants,  but  it  is  important,  and  we  all 
have  it  and  seek  to  satisfy  it  in  some  way  or  other.  It  may 
be  at  one  time  by  a  walk  in  the  woods  or  fields,  or  at  other  times 
by  cultivating  flowers,  by  keeping  our  room  tidy,  by  looking 
at  pictures,  or  by  exercising  good  taste  in  clothing.  We  also 
enjoy  beauty  in  sound,  as  the  song  of  birds  or  music  in  the 
home  or  school. 

In  what  ways  do  you  provide  for  this  want? 

Very  likely  we  go  to  church  on  Sunday.  It  affords 
opportunity  to  enjoy  association  with  others,  to  add  to 
The  reUgious  our  knowledge,  and  to  hear  beautiful  music, 
want  gut  the  church  service  is  one  of  the  chief  means 

by  which  people  satisfy  another  of  the  great  wants  of  life 
—  the  religious  want.  Individuals  differ  in  their  religious 
ideas  and  in  the  depth  of  their  religious  feeling,  but  in 
every  community  there  are  certain  things  that  men  do  because 
of  it. 


COMMON   PURPOSES   IN   COMMUNITY   LIFE 


What  are  some  of  the  great  religions  of  the  world? 
Is  religion  a  strong  influence  in  your  community? 

Can  you  mention  any  great  historical  events  that  were  due  to  religious 
causes  ? 

Perhaps  after  school,  or  on  Saturdays,  or  in  vacation  time, 
we  work  at  tasks  to  earn  money,  or  at  least  help  in  occupations 
that   contribute   to   the   "living"   of   the  family.   The  want 
Doubtless  we  have  thought  more  or  less  about  ^^'^  wealth 
what  we  are  going  to  do  for  a  living  after  we  leave  school.     We 


Team  Work  in  a  Great  Cause 

"Everyone  who  creates  or  cultivates  a  garden  helps,  and  helps  greatly,  to  solve 
the  problem  of  the  feeding  of  the  nations."  —  Woodrow  Wilson. 

all  have  a  desire  to  own  things,  to  have  property,  to  accumulate 
wealth.  This  also  is  one  of  the  great  wants  of  life.  We  have 
perhaps  already  experienced  the  satisfaction  of  raising  our  own 
first  crop  of  corn  or  potatoes,  of  acquiring  our  first  hvestock, 
of  putting  away  or  selling  our  first  supply  of  canned  fruits  or 
vegetables,  of  buying  a  set  of  tools,  a  bicycle,  or  some  books? 
of  starting  a  bank  account.  But  after  all  the  chief  reason  why 
we  want  wealth,  or  to  "make  money,"  is  because  of  what  we 
can  do  with  it.     It  enables  us  to  satisfy  our  wants.     Earning  a 


6  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

living  simply  means  earning  the  things  that  satisfy  our  wants 
in  life. 

Make  a  blackboard  list  of  the  occupations  by  which  the  parents  and  other 
members  of  the  families  of  the  pupils  in  the  class  make  a  living. 

Make  a  blackboard  list  of  things  done  by  members  of  the  class  to  earn 
money. 

What  is  your  choice  of  occupation  by  which  to  make  a  living  in  the 
future?     Why?     Make  blackboard  list  for  the  whole  class. 

The  six  kinds  of  wants  that  we  have  indicated  clearly  account 

for  many  of  the  things  that  we  do.     In  fact,  all  of  our  wants 

are  of  one  or  other  of  these  kinds  and  everything 
These  wants 
give  purpose     we  do  is  important  because  of  its  relation  to  them. 

to  community  \Ye  may  not  be  ready,  yet,  to  accept  this  state- 
ment. We  may  think  of  wants  that  seem  at  first 
not  to  fall  under  any  of  these  six  kinds.  It  will  do  no  harm  to 
add  other  kinds  to  the  list  if  we  think  it  necessary.  But,  at 
all  events,  the  six  kinds  of  wants  mentioned  are  common  to 
all  of  us.  We  live  in  communities  in  order  to  provide  for  them, 
and  a  community  is  good  to  live  in  in  proportion  as  it  provides 
for  all  of  them  adequately.  It  is  these  wants  that  give  common 
purpose  to  our  community  life. 

Make  as  complete  a  list  as  possible  of  the  things  you  did  yesterday 
(outside  of  school  as  well  as  in  school).  Then  extend  the  list  to  include 
the  more  important  things  done  during  the  entire  week. 

Write  the  six  wants  across  the  top  of  a  page  of  your  notebook  or  a  sheet 
of  paper : 

Health       Knowledge       Association       Beauty       Religion       Wealth 

Arrange  the  activities  in  your  list  in  the  six  columns  according  to  the 
wants  which  they  satisfy.  If  any  activity  clearly  satisfies  more  than  one 
of  the  wants,  write  it  down  in  each  of  the  proper  columns. 

Which  column  is  the  longest?  which  comes  next?  which  is  the 
shortest  ? 

Is  your  longest  column  also  the  longest  in  the  lists  made  by  other  members 
of  your  class?  Compare  your  other  columns  with  those  of  your  classmates. 
Which  wants  seem  to  keep  you  busiest? 


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8  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

Which  do  you  think  is  most  important?  Why?  Discuss  this  question 
in  class.     Do  you  all  agree  in  regard  to  this  point  ? 

If  any  of  the  activities  in  your  list  are  for  the  purpose  of  earning 
money,  tell  for  what  you  expect  to  spend  the  money.  Show  how  the 
things  you  expect  to  buy  with  your  money  wiU  help  to  satisfy  your  other 
five  wants. 

For  which  of  these  six  wants  do  yoii  spend  the  most  time  in  providing? 
your  father?  your  mother?  If  there  is  a  difference  in  the  three  answers, 
why  is  it  ? 

Do  you  have  difficulty  in  classifying  any  of  the  things  you  do,  or  that 
you  see  others  do,  under  any  of  the  six  heads?  Make  note  of  these  things 
and,  as  your  study  proceeds,  see  if  the  difficulty  of  classification  is 
removed. 

Suppose  a  boy  is  a  bully:  what  wants  does  he  satisfy  by  his  bullying 
conduct?  Suppose  a  boy  or  a  girl  is  ambitious  to  become  a  leader,  either 
among  present  companions  or  later  in  social  life,  business,  or  politics  :  under 
which  head  or  heads  would  you  place  this  ambition? 

A  boy  wants  to  enlist  in  the  army,  or  a  girl  as  an  army  nurse :  do  these 
wants  come  under  any  of  the  sbc  heads? 

Would  you,  after  your  discussion  of  these  topics,  add  any  other  group 
or  kind  of  wants  to  the  six  mentioned?     If  so,  what  would  you  call  it? 

Every  one  wants  happiness.  Why  is  it  not  necessary  to  make  a  special 
group  under  this  head? 

Make  a  list  of  things  done  in  your  home  to  provide  for  each  of  the  six 
wants. 

What  is  done  in  your  school  to  provide  for  the  want  for  health?  for 
beauty?  for  association  with  others?  for  the  religious  want?  Has  your 
school  work  any  relation  to  your  desire  to  make  a  living  ?  Is  it  the  business 
of  the  school  to  provide  for  all  these  things  as  well  as  for  the  want  for  knowl- 
edge? 

Make  a  list  of  a  few  things  done  in  your  community  outside  of  the  home 
and  school  to  provide  for  each  of  the  six  wants. 

Think  of  something  in  which  your  entire  community  is  deeply  interested, 
such  as  the  improvement  of  the  roads,  or  the  building  of  a  new  high  school, 
or  a  county  fair,  and  explain  what  wants  it  provides  for. 

What  wants  do  the  following  things  provide  for :  rural  mail  delivery ; 
weather  reports ;  a  corn  club  (or  a  similar  club) ;  a  school  garden ;  a  library ; 
the  telephone ;  a  hospital ;  a  parent-teacher  association  ? 

We  may  often  hear  our  common  purposes  as  communities 
or  as  a  nation  stated  in  different  terms  than  those  suggested  in 


COMMON  PURPOSES  IN  COMMUNITY  LIFE  9 

the  paragraphs  above.  For  example,  Franklin  K.  Lane,  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  during  the  war,  said,  "Our  national 
purpose  is  to  transmute  days  of  dreary  work  into  xhe  purpose 
happier  lives  — •  for  ourselves  first  and  for  all  others  °^  democracy 
in  their  time."  Again,  President  Wilson  said  that  our  purpose 
in  entering  the  world  war  was  to  help  "make  the  world  safe  for 
democracy."  Although  these  two  statements  read  differently, 
they  mean  very  much  the  same  thing ;  and  they  both  refer  in 
general  terms  to  the  things  this  chapter  discusses  in  more 
familiar  and  express  terms.  For  "happier  lives"  can  only 
result  from  a  more  complete  satisfaction  of  our  common  wants. 
Our  own  happiness  comes  from  the  satisfaction  of  our  own 
wants  and  from  helping  to  satisfy  the  wants  of  others.  And 
"democracy"  means,  in  part,  that  the  common  wants  of  all 
shall  be  properly  provided  for. 

In  the  Declaration  of  Independence  we  read : 

We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-cindent,  that  all  men  arc  created  equal,  that 
they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  unalienable  rights,  that  among 
these  are  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness. 

The  statement  that  "all  men  are  created  equal"  has  troubled 
many  people  when  they  have  thought  of  the  obvious  inequali- 
ties that  exist  in  natural  ability  and  opportunity.    ^^  ^^_ 
But  whatever  inequalities  may  exist,  people  are  aUenable 
absolutely  equal  in  their  right  to  satisfy  the  wants  "^  *^ 
described  in  this  chapter.     These  are  the  "unalienable  rights" 
which  the  Declaration  of  Independence  sums  up  in  the  phrase 
"life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness."     That  community 
is  best  to  live  in  that  most  nearly  provides  equal  opportunity 
for  all  its  citizens  to  enjoy  these  rights.     From  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  to  the  present  day  our  great  national  purpose 
has  been  to  increase  this  opportunity,  even  though  at  times 
we  have  apparently  not  been  conscious  of  it,  and  even  though 
we  have  fallen  short  of  its  fulfillment,    One  of  the  chief  objects 


lO  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

of  our  study  is  to  find  out  how  our  communities  are  seeking  to 
accomplish  this  purpose. 

"The  Declaration  of  Independence  did  not  mention  the  questions  of  our 
day.  It  is  of  no  consequence  to  us  unless  we  can  translate  its  general  terms 
into  examples  of  the  present  day  and  substitute  them  in  some  vital  way  for 
the  examples  it  itself  gives,  so  concrete,  so  intimately  involved  in  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  day  in  which  it  was  conceived  and  written.  It  is  an 
eminently  practical  document,  meant  for  the  use  of  practical  men.  .  .  . 
Unless  we  can  translate  it  into  the  questions  of  our  own  day,  we  are  not 
worthy  of  it,  we  are  not  sons  of  the  sires  who  acted  in  response  to  its  chal- 
lenge."—Woodrow  Wilson,  in  Tlie  New  Freedom,  pp.  48,  49. 

A  and  B  are  two  boys  of  the  same  age.  One  was  born  in  a  rich  family, 
and  one  in  a  very  poor  family.  So  far  as  this  accident  of  birth  is  concerned, 
have  they  equal  opportunity  to  satisfy  the  wants  of  life?  Have  they  an 
equal  right  to  health?  to  an  education?  to  pleasant  surroundings?  to  earn 
a  good  living? 

Suppose  A  is  a  native  American  boy,  and  B  a  foreign-born  boy  who  speaks 
a  foreign  language :  does  this  make  any  difference  in  their  right  to  life  and 
health,  an  education,  etc.  ?  Does  it  make  any  difference  in  their  opportunity 
to  satisfy  their  wants  in  these  directions? 

Can  you  think  of  persons  in  your  community  who  have  less  opportunity 
to  satisfy  their  wants  than  you  have?  Can  you  think  of  any  persons  who 
have  less  right  to  satisfy  their  wants  than  you  have? 

The  first  ten  amendments  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  com- 
prise what  is  known  as  a  "bUl  of  rights."  Study  together  in  class  this  bill  of 
rights  (see  Appendix)  to  see  how  many  of  the  wants  described  in  this  chapter 
are  there  provided  for  directly  and  indirectly. 

Has  your  state  constitution  a  bill  of  rights?  If  so,  read  it  together  in 
class  for  the  same  purpose  as  suggested  in  the  last  question. 

READINGS 

Preamble  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  (see  Appendix). 

The  Declaration  of  Independence. 

Dunn,  Arthur  W.,  The  Community  and  the  Citizen,  chaps,  i,  iv.  (Heath). 

Tufts,  James  H.,  The  Real  Business  oj  Living  (Henry  Holt  &  Co.),  chap,  xxxix 

("Democracy  as  Equality"). 
Van  Dyke,  Henry,  "Equality  of  Opportunity,"  in  Long's  American  Patriotic  Prose, 

pp.  311,  312  (Heath). 
Cleveland,  Frederick  A.,  Four  Essentials  of  Democratic  Government,  I,  "Common 

Ideals  and  Purposes. "  , 
See  the  note  on  reference  materials  in  the  Introduction  to  this  book. 


COMMON  PURPOSES  IN  COMMUNITY  LIFE  II 

It  should  become  a  habit  of  both  teacher  and  pupils  to  be  on  the  constant 
lookout  for  news  items  and  discussions  in  available  newspapers  and  periodi- 
cals illustrative  of  the  points  made  in  each  chapter  or  lesson.  Individual 
scrapbooks  may  be  made ;  but  more  important  than  this  is  the  assembling 
of  such  material  as  a  class  enterprise,  its  classification  under  proper  heads, 
and  its  preservation  in  scrapbooks  or  in  files  as  working  material  for  suc- 
ceeding classes.  There  wiU  always  be  enough  for  each  class  to  do,  while 
each  class  at  the  same  time  contributes  to  the  success  of  the  work  of  later 
classes.    The  idea  of  service  should  dominate  such  work. 


CHAPTER  II 

HOW  WE  DEPEND   UPON   ONE  ANOTHER  m 
COMMUNITY  LIFE 

Nothing  could  be  freer  than  air.  But,  even  as  we  sit  in 
our  schoolroom,  whether  or  not  we  get  all  the  pure  air  we  need 

depends  upon  how  the  schoolhouse  was  built  for 
ence  an  ventilation,  the  number  of  people  who  occupy  the 

important         room,  the  care  that  is  taken  by  others  to  keep 

the  room  free  from  dust,  the  health  and  cleanliness 
of  those  who  sit  in  the  room  with  us.  If  this  dependence  upon 
others  is  true  in  the  case  of  the  very  air  we  breathe,  how  much 
more  true  it  must  be  of  other  necessaries  of  life  that  are  not  so 
abundant. 

This  dependence  of  people  upon  one  another  for  the  satis- 
faction of  their  wants  is  one  of  the  most  important  facts  about 
community  life.  It  is  not  merely  that  A  and  B  have  the  same 
wants,  but  that  A  is  dependent  upon  B,  and  B  upon  A,  for  the 
satisfaction  of  their  wants,  that  makes  their  wants  common. 

Mention  the  people,  both  inside  and  outside  of  your  home,  who  had  a 
share  in  providing  for  you  the  food  you  had  for  breakfast  or  dinner. 

Mention  all  the  workers  that  occur  to  you  who  have  been  employed  in 
producing  for  you  the  clothing  you  wear;  the  book  you  are  reading;  the 
materials  of  which  your  house  is  built. 

Show  how  the  people  who  produce  these  things  are  dependent  upon  your 
wants  for  their  livelihood. 

Show  that  you  are  dependent  upon  other  people  for  your  education ; 
for  recreation.  Are  other  people  dependent  upon  your  education  for  their 
welfare?     Are  others  dependent  on  you  for  their  recreation? 

The  farmer's  life  is  often  spoken  of  as  an  independent  life. 
Independence  ^^^  independence  was  certainly  much  more  com- 
of  the  plete  in  pioneer  days  than  it  is  now.     In  regard 

pioneer  ^^  ^-^^  e^-rfy  days  of  Indiana  it  has  been  said : 


HOW  WE  DEPEND   UPON  ONE  ANOTHER 


13 


Courtesy  American  Magazine  of  Art. 

The  Pioneer 

Statue  at  the  University  of  Oregon 

"He  landed  at  Plymouth  Rock  and  with  his  dull-eyed  oxen  has  made  the  long, 
long  journey  across  our  continent.     His  way  has  been  hard,  slow,  momentous. 
"Without  him  we  would  not  be  here. 
"His  is  this  one  glory  —  he  found  the  way."  —  Franklin  K.  Lane, 


14  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

Give  the  pioneer  farmer  an  ax  and  an  auger,  or  in  place  of  the  last  a 
burning  iron,  and  he  could  make  almost  any  machine  that  he  was  wont  to 
work  with.  With  his  sharp  ax  he  could  not  only  cut  the  logs  for  his  cabin 
and  notch  them  down,  but  he  could  make  a  close-fitting  door  and  supply 
it  with  wooden  hinges  and  a  neat  latch.  From  the  roots  of  an  oak  or  ash 
he  could  fashion  his  hames  and  sled  runners;  he  could  make  an  axle-tree 
for  his  wagon,  a  rake,  a  flax  brake,  a  barrow,  a  scythe-snath,  a  grain  cradle, 
a  pitchfork,  a  loom,  a  reel,  a  washboard,  a  stool,  a  chair,  a  table,  a  bedstead, 
a  dresser,  and  a  cradle  in  which  to  rock  the  baby.  If  he  was  more  than  ordi- 
narily clever  he  repaired  his  own  cooperage,  and  adding  a  drawing  knife  to 
his  kit  of  tools,  he  even  went  so  far  as  to  make  his  own  casks,  tubs,  and 
buckets.     He  made  and  mended  his  own  shoes.^ 

We  also  read  that  in  early  New  England 

Every  farmhouse  was  a  manufactory,  not  of  one  kind  of  goods,  but  of 
many.  All  day  long  in  the  chamber  or  attic  the  sound  of  the  spinning-wheel 
and  loom  could  be  heard.  Carpets,  shawls,  bed-spreads,  table-covers, 
towels,  and  cloth  for  garments  were  made  from  materials  made  on  the  farm. 
The  kitchen  of  the  house  was  a  baker's  shop,  a  confectioner's  establishment, 
and  a  chemist's  laboratory.  Every  kind  of  food  for  immediate  use  was 
prepared  there  daily ;  and  on  special  occasions  sausages,  head  cheese,  pickles, 
apple  butter,  and  preserves  were  made.  It  was  also  the  place  where  soap, 
candles,  and  vinegar  were  manufactured.  Agricultural  implements  were 
then  few  and  simple,  and  farmers  made  as  many  of  them  as  they  could. 
Every  farmhouse  was  a  creamery  and  cheese  factory.  As  there  were  no 
sewing  machines,  the  farmer's  wife  and  daughters  had  to  ply  the  hand 
needle  most  of  the  time  when  they  were  not  engaged  in  more  laborious 
pursuits.  During  the  long  evenings  they  generally  knit  socks  and  mittens 
or  made  rag  carpets.^ 

But  even  under  such  conditions  as  those  described,  the 
farmer  and  his  family  were  not  wholly  independent.  Even 
The  price  of  Robinson  Crusoe  on  his  lonely  island  was  depend- 
independence  g^t  upon  the  tools  and  equipment  that  he  saved 
from  shipwreck,  and  that  were  the  product  of  other  men's 
labor.     So,  also,  the  pioneer  farmer  had  to  maintain  some  kind 

1  Quoted  in  Pioneer  Indianapolis,  by  Ida  Stearns  Stickney,  p.  ii  (Bobbs-Merrill 
Co.,  Indianapolis). 

2  Nourse,  Agricultural  Economics,  p.  64,  from  "The  Farmer's  Changed  Condi- 
tions," by  Rodney  Welsh,  in  the  Forum,  x,  689-92  (Feb.,  1891). 


HOW  WE   DEPEND   UPON   ONE   ANOTHER  15 

of  relation,  however  infrequent  and  slight,  with  the  outside 
world.  Moreover,  he  had  to  pay  for  his  comparative  inde- 
pendence by  many  privations.  He  had  all  the  wants  described 
in  the  preceding  chapter,  but  he  had  to  provide  for  them  in 
the  simplest  way  possible,  and  often  they  were  hardly  provided 
for  at  all. 

As  soon  as  a  number  of  people  come  to  live  together,  even  in 
a  pioneer  community,  it  is  likely  that  some  members  will  have 
a  knack  for  doing  certain  things  of  use  to  the  ^j^^  growth 
community  better  than  others  can  do  them,  of  inter- 
Thus  one  man  may  be  especially  skillful  in  making  ®^®° 
ax  handles.  In  time,  the  entire  community  comes  to  depend 
upon  him  for  its  ax  handles.  In  addition,  he  probably  makes 
other  tools  and  does  repair  work  of  all  kinds.  This  requires 
so  much  of  his  time  that  he  does  little  or  no  farming,  and  de- 
pends upon  others  for  his  food  supply.  So,  in  the  course  of 
time,  the  community  has  its  blacksmiths,  carpenters,  shoe- 
makers, teachers,  storekeepers,  doctors,  upon  whom  it  depends 
for  their  special  kinds  of  service,  while  each  of  them  depends 
upon  others  to  supply  the  wants  that  he  has  neither  the  time 
nor  the  skill  to  supply  for  himself.  Thus  interdependence 
develops  in  the  simplest  communities. 

The  farmer  still  does  many  things  on  the  farm  that  in  the 
city  would  be  done  by  special  workers,  such  as  repairing  house, 
barn,  and  tools.     But  he  has  become  vastly  more 
dependent   upon   others   than   formerly.     This  is   ^^^^  ^^^^  " 
due  partly  to  improved  farming  methods,  requiring  others  of 
the  use  of  complicated  machines  and  greater  tech-   farmer  ^^^ 
nical  knowledge;    and  partly  to  improved  means 
of  transportation  and  communication  which  bring  him  in  close 
touch  with  trade  centers.     If  a  farmer  needs  a  new  ax  handle, 
he  can  get  a  better  one  with  less  expenditure  of  time  and  effort 
by  going  to  town  in  his  automobile  than  if  he  made  it  himself. 
His  farm  machinery  is  too  complicated  for  him  to  repair  except 


l6  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

in  small  matters,  and  even  then  he  must  go  or  send  to  town  for 
the  necessary  parts,  which  may  be  sent  to  him  by  parcel  post. 
Not  only  does  he  get  better  tools  and  better  service  generally 
through  this  reliance  upon  others  who  are  specialists  in  their 
lines,  but  he  also  on  account  of  it  has  more  time  to  give  to  the 
actual  business  of  farming,  for  which  others  depend  upon  him, 
and  leisure  for  thoughtful  study  of  his  problems,  for  social  life, 
and  for  recreation. 


MM 


Isolation 
A  pioneer  homestead  on  the  prairies. 

It  must  be  acknowledged  that  reliance  upon  others  may  be 
carried  so  far  as  to  result  in  loss  or  disadvantage.  "Self- 
„,       .  reliance"  is  one  of  the  most  admirable  traits  of 

of  self-  character.     The  pioneer  farmer  possessed  it  from 

re  lance  necessity   to   a   remarkable   extent.     A  habit   of 

depending  upon  others  may  quickly  cause  a  person  to  lose  the 
"knack"  of  doing  things  for  himself,  to  become  less  "handy 
about  the  place,"  and  less  "thrifty"  about  keeping  things  in 
repair  or  installing  small  improvements  —  the  casting  of  a 
cement  trough,  mending  the  harness  or  the  fence,  painting  the 
barn. 


HOW   WE   DEPEND   UPON  ONE   ANOTHER  17 

The  interdependence  of  people  in  community  life  to-day  may 
be  illustrated  by  starting  with  some  one  of  our  own  needs, 
as  was  suggested  in  the  topics  on  page  12.  For  who  makes 
example,  if  we  need  a  pair  of  shoes,  we  must  have  °"^  shoes 
money,  which  we  will  suppose  that  we  earn  by  farming.  In 
order  to  farm  successfully  we  must  have  machinery.  This  we 
also  buy  in  town ;  but  it  is  manufactured  for  us  in  distant  city 
factories  from  metals  procured  from  mines  and  from  wood  from 
the  forest.  The  shoes  bought  at  the  store  were  also  made  in  a 
factory  employing  hundreds  of  men  and  women,  perhaps  in 
Massachusetts.  They  were  made  from  leather  from  the  hides 
of  cattle  raised  in  the  far  West,  or  perhaps  even  in  the  Argentine 
Republic.  The  leather  is  tanned  by  another  industry,  and 
tanning  requires  the  use  of  an  acid  from  the  bark  of  certain 
trees  from  the  forest.  The  making  of  the  shoes  also  requires 
machinery  which  is  made  by  still  other  machines,  the  necessary 
metals  coming  from  mines.  To  smelt  the  metals  and  to  run 
the  factories  there  must  be  fuel  from  other  mines.  Meanwhile 
the  workers  in  all  these  industries  must  be  fed  and  clothed  and 
housed.  This  means  the  work  of  farmers,  food  packers,  millers 
and  bakers,  lumbermen,  carpenters,  cotton  and  woolen  mills, 
clothing  factories,  and  many  others.  At  every  stage  transpor- 
tation enters  in,  —  by  team  and  automobile  truck,  by  railway, 
by  water.  These  are  only  a  part  of  the  activities  necessary  in 
order  that  we  may  have  a  pair  of  shoes.  It  would  seem  that 
practically  every  kind  of  worker  and  industry  in  the  world 
had  something  to  do  with  it.  People  in  communities  to-day 
are  indeed  very  interdependent. 

The  following  item  appeared  in  a  newspaper : 

Held  Back  by  Neighbors 
Farmer  Is  Limited  by  Conditions  in  Community 

The  average  farmer  is  limited  in  the  changes  he  can  make  in  his  farm 
business  by  the  farm  practices  of  the  community  in  which  he  is  Hving. 


l8  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

There  are  farmers  in  every  community  who  would  like  to  change  their 
systems  of  agriculture  but  are  restrained  from  doing  so  by  the  fact  that  their 
neighbors  will  not  change.  Many  farmers  have  tried  to  change  from  one 
type  of  farming  to  another  better  suited  to  the  region,  but  failed  because 
the  cost  of  running  such  an  entirely  independent  business  was  too  great. 

A  man  owning  an  orchard  in  a  locality  where  there  are  no  other  orchards 
has  trouble  in  getting  rid  of  his  crop.  Even  when  the  farmer  is  so  fortunate 
as  to  get  buyers,  he  generally  receives  a  lower  price  for  the  same  grade  of 
fruit  than  would  be  received  in  a  general  apple-growing  region. 

If  a  man  wants  to  buy  several  pure-bred  Holstein  cows,  he  generally  goes 
to  a  locality  where  a  large  number  of  farmers  keep  that  kind  of  stock. 
Often  there  is  a  man  in  his  own  community  who  has  for  sale  Holsteins  that 
are  just  as  highly  bred  as  those  in  other  districts,  but  he  either  has  no  market 
for  them  or  must  sell  them  at  a  greatly  reduced  price. 

The  farmer  ought  not  to  think  on  account  of  these  facts  that  he  should 
not  change  his  system  of  farming  just  because  his  neighbors  do  not  do  like- 
wise. 

Probably  the  best  way  for  a  farmer  to  start  such  a  movement  is  to  arouse 
the  interest  of  his  neighbors  in  his  fanning  operations.  As  soon  as  this 
has  been  accomplished  he  can  gradually  bring  about  the  change  that  he 
advocates.  Farmers  in  a  community  profit  from  the  experiences  of  other 
individuals. 

The  value  of  a  man's  property  is  dependent  not  upon  his 
own  efforts  alone,  but  upon  what  his  neighbors  do.  The  land 
^,       .  occupied  by  a  pioneer  increases  in  value  as  other 

value  to  people  settle  in  the  neighborhood,  and  because  they 

^^^^  settle  there.     Men  often  buy  land  and  then  simply 

wait  for  it  to  increase  in  value  because  of  improvements  in  the 
neighborhood.  The  property  that  we  own  may  increase  or 
decrease  in  value  according  to  the  care  that  neighbors  take  of 
their  property.  Even  if  we  take  good  care  of  our  property, 
it  will  be  less  valuable  if  the  neighbors  let  their  fences  and 
buildings  run  down  and  the  weeds  grow  than  it  will  be  if  they 
keep  their  fences  and  buildings  in  good  repair  and  their  weeds 
cut. 

Malaria  is  carried  by  mosquitoes,  and  we  know  that  mosqui- 
toes breed  in  standing  water,  as  in  swamps  and  in  old  barrels 


HOW  WE  DEPEND   UPON  ONE  ANOTHER  19 

or   tin   cans  that  hold  rainwater  until  it  becomes  stagnant. 
Now  we  may  endeavor  to  get  rid  of  mosquitoes,   and   thus 
of  malaria,  by  removing  all  open  receptacles  of  jjj^g^^g. 
water  about  our  premises  and  by  draining  the   pendence 
marshes  on  our  land ;  but  unless  our  neighbors  do  ^^   ^^ 
the  same,  we  are  not  much  better  off  than  we  were  before. 

Give  other  illustrations  to  show  the  dependence  of  people  upon  one  another 
in  your  community. 

Compare  the  farmer  of  to-day  in  your  neighborhood  with  the  pioneer  of 
Indiana  described  on  page  14  with  respect  to  his  equipment,  skill  in  making 
things,  kinds  of  implements  used. 

Compare  the  average  farmer's  home  in  your  neighborhood  to-day  with 
that  of  the  New  England  farmer  described  on  page  14  with  respect  to 
household  activities. 

Are  farmers  in  your  neighborhood  to-day  more  or  less  dependent  upon 
others  to  supply  their  wants  than  they  were  when  your  parents  were  children? 
Why  is  it?  Get  all  the  information  you  can  from  your  parents  on  this 
point. 

Which  is  more  dependent  upon  others  for  its  daily  wants,  a  family  that 
lives  on  a  farm  in  your  neighborhood  or  one  that  lives  in  town?  Give 
examples  to  prove  your  answer.  . 

Do  you  know  cases  in  your  own  community  where  land  has  increased 
in  value  while  lying  idle?     What  are  the  reasons? 

Do  you  know  of  cases  in  your  community  where  property  has  depreciated 
in  value  because  of  neighborhood  influences  such  as  suggested  on  page  18? 

Do  you  know  of  cases  in  your  community  similar  to  the  one  described 
on  page  17  under  the  heading  "Held  Back  by  Neighbors"?  Explain. 
(Consult  at  home.) 

We  do  not  always  realize  how  dependent  we  are  upon  one 

another  until  something  happens  to  disturb  our  accustomed 

relations.     We  best  realize  our  dependence  upon 

the  telephone  when  it  is  out  of  order.     The  recent  results  of 

great  war  produced  conditions  that  made  us  con-  interde- 

r  .  ,  ,  .  ,  pendence 

scious  01  our  mterdependence  m  unexpected  ways. 

For  example,  if  we  had  gone  into  a  store  to  buy  underwear  in 

the  early  part  of  the  war,  we  would  have  found  that  the  price 


20 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


Tools  of  the  Modern  Farmer 

Above :  A  gang  plow  operated  by  steam  and  plowing  ten  furrows  at  a  time. 
Below  :  Putting  in  a  crop  of  grain  on  land  too  soft  for  horses.  This  enormous  ma- 
chine is  operated  by  steam. 

Contrast  this  equipment  with  that  of  the  farmer  described  on  page  14. 


HOW  WE  DEPEND  UPON  ONE  ANOTHER       21 

had  greatly  increased,  and  we  might  have  been  told,  if  the  sales- 
man were  well  informed,  that  the  high  price  was  due  to  the 
manufacture  of  airplanes !  The  explanation  is  that  the  wire 
stays  used  in  the  manufacture  of  airplanes  are  made  of  steel 
wire  from  which  machine  knitting  needles  are  also  made.  In 
the  early  part  of  the  war  all  of  the  available  wire  of  this  kind 
was  taken  for  airplanes,  thus  limiting  the  supply  of  knitting 
needles  and  consequently  of  knit  goods. 

The  manufacture  of  airplanes  is  also  said  to  have  affected 
the  price  of  fish !  The  nets  used  for  catching  certain  deep-sea 
fish,  such  as  cod,  must  be  made  of  linen,  which  is  invisible  in 
water.  The  linen  which  had  been  used  for  this  purpose  sud- 
denly came  into  great  demand  for  the  manufacture  of  airplane 
wings.  Since  airplanes  were  necessary,  linen  fishing  nets  were 
sacrificed  and  the  price  of  deep-sea  fish  went  up.  This  of  course 
created  a  demand  for  other  kinds  of  fish,  and  the  price  of  the 
latter  also  went  up. 

When  people  are  so  closely  dependent  upon  one  another 
conflicts  are  likely  to  occur.  Sometimes  they  are  due  to  selfish 
disregard  by  some  persons  of  the  rights  and  in-  cgnflj^ts 
terests  of  others ;  but  more  often  they  are  due  due  to  inter- 
simply  to  failure  to  see  what  the  real  results  of  a  ^^^^  ^^"^^ 
particular  act  may  be  and  how  it  may  afifect  other  people.  It 
was  not  dreamed  that  the  building  of  airplanes  would  aflfect 
the  price  of  underwear  and  fish,  and  it  was  only  after  careful 
investigation  that  the  relation  between  these  things  was  dis- 
covered. A  family  that  is  careless  in  the  disposal  of  refuse 
from  the  household  and  stables  may  unconsciously  poison  the 
wells  of  neighbors  half  a  mile  away.  Sometimes  men  oppose 
public  improvements,  such  as  better  roads,  or  a  new  schoolhouse, 
because  they  see  only  the  direct  money  cost  of  the  improve- 
ments, and  fail  to  see  more  important  losses  to  themselves  and 
to  the  community  that  will  occur  if  the  improvements  are  not 
made. 


22  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

One  thing  that  we  may  learn  from  such  facts  as  these  is  the 
danger  of  forming  hasty  judgments  about  things  that  happen, 
Danger  of  ^^  conditions  that  exist,  or  proposals  that  are 
hasty  made,  in  our  community  life.     Even  those  condi- 

ju  gmen  s  tions  or  events  that  are  apparently  most  simple 
may  be  related  to  other  conditions  and  events  that  are  not  at 
first  apparent.  Wise  judgment  and  wise  action  are  dependent 
upon  the  most  complete  knowledge  obtainable. 

We  shall  see,  as  we  proceed  with  our  study,  how  this  fact  of 
interdependence  appears  in  every  phase  of  our  community  life. 

From  observation  in  your  own  community,  give  illustrations  to  show 
how  people,  in  attempting  to  satisfy  their  own  wants,  may  interfere  with  the 
efforts  of  others  to  satisfy  theirs.     The  following  are  given  as  suggestions : 

An  employer  and  those  whom  he  employs. 

A  man  who  owns  a  house  or  farm  and  the  tenant  to  whom  he  rents  it. 

A  man  who  keeps  a  livery  stable  adjoining  a  schoolhouse. 

A  grocer  who  displays  his  goods  on  the  sidewalk  (especially  food  products). 

Men  who  raise  cattle  and  those  who  raise  sheep  on  the  western  ranges. 

A  boy  who  raises  chickens  and  one  who  has  a  garden  adjoining. 

Suppose  a  schoolmate  comes  to  school  with  measles  or  some  other  con- 
tagious disease.  How  may  this  affect  your  school  work  ?  your  association 
with  your  friends?     How  may  it  even  add  to  your  father's  expenses? 

Show  that  your  schoolmates  are  as  dependent  upon  you  as  you  are  upon 
them. 

Is  the  community  in  which  you  live  dependent  upon  you  in  any  way? 
Give  illustrations. 

Taxpayers  like  to  keep  the  tax  rate  as  low  as  possible.  In  their  interest 
in  doing  this,  is  it  possible  that  they  might  interfere  with  your  getting  a  good 
education  in  favorable  surroundings?     Explain.     Who  are  the  taxpayers? 

We  often  hear  of  "self-made  men."  What  does  it  mean?  Can  a  man 
be  entirely  "self-made"? 

Does  a  child  become  more  or  less  dependent  upon  others  as  he  grows 
older?     Explain  your  answer. 

Show  that  as  a  person  becomes  more  "self-dependent"  other  people 
become  more  dependent  upon  him;  for  example,  in  the  home,  and  in 
school. 

Watch  the  newspapers  for  items  illustrating  interdependence,  or  conflicts 
due  to  it. 


HOW  WE  DEPEND   UPON  ONE  ANOTHER  23 


READINGS 

Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life  (see  note  on  reference  materials  in  Intro- 
duction, 
Series  A:   Lesson    i,  Some  fundamental  aspects  of  social  organization. 

Lesson    2,  The  western  pioneer. 
Series  B:   Lesson    i,  The  effect  of  the  war  on  commerce  in  nitrate. 
Lesson    2,  The  varied  occupations  of  a  colonial  farm. 
Lesson  12,  Impersonality  of  modem  life. 
Series  C  :   Lesson    i,  The  war  and  aeroplanes. 

Lesson    2,  Spinning  and  dyeing  in  colonial  times. 
Lesson    9,  Inventions. 

Lesson  11,  The  effects  of  machinery  on  rural  life. 
Dunn,  Arthur  W.,  The  Community  and  the  Citizen,  Chaps,  i,  v. 
Cleveland,  Frederick  A.,  Four  Essentials  of  Democratic  Government,  I,  II. 
Tufts,  James  H.,  The  Real  Business  of  Living,  chap,  xxxi  (Problems  of  country  life). 
Earle,  Alice  Morse,  Home  Life  in  Colonial  Days  (Macmillan). 

Finley,  John  H.,  "  Paths  of  the  Pioneers,"  in  'Longs  American  Patriotic  Prose,  pp.  1-4. 
Pioneer  stories  from  any  available  source,  especially  local  history  stories. 


CHAPTER  III 
THE   NEED   FOR   COOPERATION   IN   COMMUNITY  LIFE 

When  people  have  common  purposes  and  are  dependent 
upon  one  another  in  accomphshing  them,  there  must  be  co- 
The  need  Operation,  which  is  another  name  for  "team  work." 

for  team  A  team  of  horses  that  does  not  pull  together  can- 

^"'^  not  haul  a  heavy  load.     A  baseball  team,  though 

composed  of  good  players,  will  seldom  win  games  unless  its 
team  work  is  good.  A  few  soldiers  may  easily  disperse  a  large 
mob,  because  they  have  team  work,  while  a  mob  usually  does 
not.  This  principle  of  "  pulling  together,"  "  team  work,"  or 
"  cooperation,"  is  of  the  greatest  importance  in  community 
life.    There  can  be  no  real  community  life  without  it. 

In  the  early  days  there  were  "barn  raisings,"  when  neighbors 
came  together  to  help  one  of  their  number  to  "raise"  his  barn; 

Simple  tvoes  ^^*^  ^^^  ^^^  "^^^  °^  ^  pioneer  community  con- 
of  coopera-  tributed  their  labor  in  building  the  community 
^°"  church  or  schoolhouse.     This  was  a   simple  form 

of  cooperation.  It  may  be  seen  now  at  threshing  time,  when 
neighboring  farmers  combine  to  thresh  the  grain  of  each,  the 
same  group  of  men  and  the  same  threshing  machine  doing  the 
work  for  all.  The  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture 
reports  that 

In  a  group  of  14  farmers  situated  in  a  community  in  one  of  the  best  farm- 
ing regions  in  the  corn  belt,  ...  it  was  found  that  5  men  out  of  the  14 
failed  to  get  all  their  corn  planted  by  the  last  week  in  May.  They  had 
worked  as  hard  and  as  steadily  at  that  operation  as  had  their  neighbors, 
but  they  were  delayed  by  one  cause  or  another,  such  as  lack  of  labor  or 
teams,  or  were  handling  a  larger  acreage  than  their  equipment  would  allow 

24 


THE   NEED    I'OR   COOPERATION 


25 


(Coottesy  of  Annour  &  Co.) 


success! 


In  Union  There  Is  Strength 


26  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

them  to  handle  satisfactorily.  In  this  same  community  were  3  men  who 
completed  all  their  planting  operations  before  the  20th  of  May,  and  5  others 
who  completed  their  work,  by  the  25  th  of  May.  ...  If  all  these  men  had 
considered  that  corn  planting  was  a  national  necessity  and  had  pooled  their 
efforts,  all  of  the  corn  on  aU  the  farms  could  have  been  planted  within  the 
most  favorable  time.^ 

Give  other  illustrations  of  this  sort  of  cooperation  from  the  farm  or  com- 
munity life  of  your  neighborhood. 

Give  illustrations  of  such  team  work  among  boys  and  girls. 

Give  illustrations  of  the  failure  of  enterprises  in  which  you  have  been 
interested  because  of  a  lack  of  team  work. 

Why  is  it  an  advantage  for  the  farmers  to  use  one  threshing  machine 
for  all  the  threshing  of  the  neighborhood  instead  of  each  farmer  having  his 
own  machine  ? 

As  communities  grow  and  the  people  become  more  dependent 

upon  one  another,  and  especially  when  it  becomes  hard  to  see 

how  one  thing  that  happens  may  affect  others, 

cooperation       9-8  shown    in    Chapter    II    (p.    21),    cooperation 

*°^  becomes  more  difficult,  but  it  becomes  even  more 

leadership  .      ,  ,  .  , 

necessary.     It  needs  to  be  organized,  and  it  needs 

leadership.  The  experience  of  fruit  growers  in  California  affords 
a  good  illustration  of  this.  When  they  acted  independently  of 
one  another,  they  often  had  difficulty  in  disposing  of  their 
product  to  advantage.  Sometimes  it  rotted  on  the  ground. 
As  individuals  they  did  not  have  the  means  of  learning  where 
the  best  markets  were.  They  had  to  make  their  own  terms 
separately  with  the  railroads  for  transportation  and,  since  they 
shipped  in  small  quantities,  they  paid  high  freight  rates.  They 
had  no  adequate  means  of  storing  fruit  while  it  was  awaiting 
shipment.  They  were  dependent  upon  commission  merchants 
in  the  cities  for  such  prices  as  they  could  get,  which  were  often 
practically  nothing  at  all. 

These  and  other  difficulties  that  made  fruit  growing  unprofit- 
able were  overcome  by  the  organization  of  fruit  growers'  asso- 

1  The  Farm  Labor  Problem,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  OfiSce  of  the  Secre- 
tary, Circular  No.  112,  p.  5. 


THE  NEED    FOR   COOPERATION 


27 


ciations,  in  which  each  grower  may  become  a  member  by 
purchasing  shares  of  stock.  The  members  elect  from  their 
number  a  board  of  directors,  who  in  turn  appoint  a  business 
manager  who  gives  his  entire  attention  to  the  association's 
business.  The  association  has  central  offices  and  storage  and 
packing  houses. 

The  manager  keeps  in  close  touch  with  market  conditions,  — ■ 
where  the  demand  for  fruit  is  greatest,  the  kinds  of  fruit  wanted, 


Cooperative  Fruit  Packing  House,  Calipornia 


the  best  prices  paid.  He  contracts  for  the  sale  of  fruit  at  fair 
prices.  Shipping  in  large  quantities,  he  gets  the  advantage 
of  low  rates  on  fast  freight  trains  with  refrigerator  cars.  Uni- 
form methods  of  packing  fruit  are  adopted,  sometimes  the 
fruit  being  packed  at  the  central  packing  house.  Information 
is  distributed  as  to  the  best  methods  of  growing  fruit,  the  best 
varieties  to  grow,  and  so  on.  On  the  other  hand,  supplies  and 
provisions  are  bought  in  large  quantities,  securing  the  best 
quality  at  the  lowest  prices. 


28 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


In  cities  there  are  almost  innumerable  organizations  by 
which  groups  of  people  cooperate  for  one  purpose  or  another. 
Voluntary  Men  in  the  same  line  of  business  or  in  the  same 
cooperation  profession  organize  to  promote  their  common 
in  cities  interests.     There  are  boards  of  trade,  chambers 

of    commerce,    merchants'    and    manufacturers'    associations. 
Lawyers  have  their  bar  associations,  physicians  their  medical 


Direct  Cooperatiun  in  Building  Farm  Bureau  Center  Hall 
Men  of  the  community  giving  their  labor. 

associations.  There  are  associations  of  teachers,  and  work- 
men in  the  various  trades  have  their  unions.  Besides  such 
business  and  professional  organizations,  there  are  clubs  and 
associations  of  all  sorts  for  men,  for  women,  and  even  for  chil- 
dren, some  of  them  educational,  some  social  or  recreational, 
some  philanthropic,  some  religious.  Where  there  are  so  many 
people  interested  in  the  same  thing,  where  it  is  easy  for  them  to 
meet  together,  and  where  competent  leadership  is  forthcoming, 
it  is  quite  the  usual  thing  to  organize  for  united  action. 


THE  NEED    FOR   COOPERATION  29 

In  agricultural  communities  cooperation  has  developed  more 
slowly.     Farmers  have  been  too  isolated  from  one  another  to 
make    organization    easy,    they    have    not    fully   cooperation 
realized   its   advantages,    and    they   have    lacked  in  rural 
leadership.     This   has   been   an   obstacle    to    the  *^°™™"'"  *®^ 
fullest  development  of  community  life.     The  most  backward 
communities  are  those  where  there  is  the  least  cooperation.     In 
such  communities  "the  farmer  works  single  handed,  getting 
no  strength  from  joint  action  or  combined  effort." 

But  all  this  is  changing.  Organizations  like  the  fruit  growers' 
associations  are  becoming  common  and  are  proving  their  value. 
The  map  on  page  36  shows  the  distribution  of  organizations 
among  farmers  in  the  United  States  for  cooperation  in  business 
enterprises  of  various  kinds,  though  it  shows  only  about  half  as 
many  as  actually  exist.  They  include  cooperative  grain  ele- 
vators and  warehouses,  creameries  and  cheese  factories,  cooper- 
ative stores,  fruit  and  grain  growers'  associations,  livestock 
associations,  cotton  and  tobacco  associations,  and  many  others. 

Study  the  map  on  page  36  and  indicate  the  region  or  regions  where  you 
think  cooperative  grain  elevators  and  warehouses  would  be  most  numerous ; 
livestock  associations ;  dairies  and  creameries ;  fruit  growers'  associations ; 
cotton  growers'  associations;   tobacco  growers'  associations. 

Are  there  any  organizations  of  farmers  in  your  community  similar  to 
those  in  the  list  in  the  last  paragraph  above?  Make  a  list  of  them.  What 
are  their  purposes?  \\Tiat  are  their  advantages?  What  obstacles  have 
they  encountered?  Are  all  the  farmers  in  the  community  members?  If 
not,  why?  Describe  their  plans  of  organization  —  membership,  oflQcers, 
management,  etc.     (Discuss  these  questions  at  home  and  report  results.) 

Is  there  any  organization  of  business  men,  or  of  workmen,  in  your  town  or 
neighboring  town  ?     If  so,  ascertain  what  advantages  it  seeks. 

Show  how  an  ordinary  store,  or  a  bank,  or  a  grain  elevator,  is  a  means 
by  which  people  cooperate. 

Are  there  any  boys'  or  girls'  clubs  in  3'our  community?  Show  how  such 
clubs  require  and  secure  cooperation.     How  is  leadership  provided? 

If  there  is  a  parents'  association  connected  with  your  school,  show  how 
it  brings  about  cooperation  among  its  members  in  the  interest  of  the  school. 


30 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


Make  a  list  of  all  the  organizations  you  can  think  of  in  your  community 
(such  as  clubs,  societies,  associations).  Opposite  the  name  of  each  write 
the  chief  purposes  for  which  it  exists. 

Write  the  sLx  great  wants  across  the  top  of  a  page,  as  suggested  in  the 
fifth  topic  on  page  6,  and  arrange  the  list  of  organizations  suggested  in  the 
last  question  above  in  the  proper  columns  according  to  the  wants  they  pro- 
vide for. 

Discuss  the  importance  of  leadership  in  school  activities.  What  are  the 
qualities  that  make  a  good  leader? 

Who  are  some  of  the  leaders  in  your  community,  both  men  and  women? 


Play  Shed  and  Gymnasium  Built  by  Eighth  Grade  Boys 
Team  work  and  leadership  were  necessary. 

At  the  close  of  191 6  there  were  nearly  three  hundred  "farm 
bureaus"  in  the  northern  and  western  states  with  a  member- 
The  farm  ship   of   nearly    100,000.     A   farm   bureau   is   an 

bureau  organization  to  secure  cooperation  throughout  an 

entire  county  for  the  promotion  of  agricultural  interests.  The 
members  elect  an  executive  committee  to  manage  the  affairs 
of  the  bureau.  In  each  of  the  small  communities  of  which 
the  county  is  made  up  there  is  a  "community  committee." 
The  chairmen  of  the  several  community  committees  constitute 
a  county  agricultural  council.     The  chairmen  and  members 


THE  NEED   FOR   COOPERATION 


31 


of  the  various  committees  are  chosen  because  of  their  interest 
in  special  Hnes  of  work  and  their  fitness  to  direct  such  work. 
Various  other  organizations  in  the  county,  such  as  the  fair  asso- 
ciation, breeders'  associations,  the  Grange,  the  schools,  and 
others,  are  represented  in  the  committees  of  the  bureau,  the 
purpose  being  to  secure  team  work  among  them,  as  well  as 
among  the  different  communities  of  the  county  and  among  the 


Threshing 

individual  farmers.  The  bureau  also  cooperates  with  the  state 
and  national  governments  in  employing  a  county  agricultural 
agent,  who  is  the  bureau's  adviser,  or  leader.  In  short,  the 
farm  bureau  represents  the  county  working  together  in  an 
organized  way  and  under  leadership  for  the  improvement  of 
community  life. 

In  the  Year  Book  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  for  the 
year  191 5  the  story  is  told  of  Christian  County,   Kentucky.^ 

1  "How  the  Whole  County  Demonstrated,"  IQ15  Year  Book,  U.  S.  Department 
of  Agriculture,  pp.  225-248. 


32 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


This  county  is  almost  wholly  agricultural,  but  the  county  seat 
is  a  small  city  of  10,000  population.  There  had  formerly  been 
more  or  less  jealousy  between  the  city  and  county, 
as  too  frequently  happens.  But  a  business  men's 
association  was  organized  in  the  city,  which 
interested  itself  in  bettering  the  agricultural  conditions  of  the 
county,  because  the  business  of  the  city  was  very  dependent 
Tipon  the  neighboring  agriculture.  A  "crop  improvement  asso- 
ciation" was  formed,  including  farmers  in  its  membership.     A 


A  case  of 

county 

cooperation 


Cooperative  Grain  I'.liaator 

county  agricultural  agent  was  employed,  and  local  community 
clubs  were  organized  in  different  parts  of  the  county,  which  held 
meetings  attended  by  the  farmers  and  their  families,  and  by 
business  men  from  the  city.  A  good  roads  association  was 
organized,  and  a  "good  roads  day"  was  held  on  which 

bjusiness  men  turned  out  with  the  farmers,  stores  of  the  city  were  closed, 
and  on  one  of  the  principal  roads  at  least  90  per  cent  of  the  workmen  were 
city  men.  Stone  was  contributed  by  contractors,  concrete  firms  furnished 
men  gratis  to  repair  bridges,  one  company  supplied  outfits  for  trimming 


THE   NEED    FOR   COOPERATION 


33 


trees,  and  a  large  amount  of  work  was  done  by  the  county  and  town  working 
side  by  side.  .  .  .  Such  results  could  only  be  accomplished  through  unity 
of  purpose  and  cooperation  of  all  the  people. 

Among  other  things  accomplished  in  this  county, 

a  fair  association  has  been  formed;  medical  instruction  has  been  intro- 
duced into  the  schools ;  a  public  library  and  hospital  have  been  built ;  the 
school  system  of  the  county  has  cooperated  in  all  educational  work;  both 
town  and  county  merchants  have  offered  prizes  to  members  of  the  boys' 
clubs ;  also  for  cooking  in  the  schools,  and  have  put  women's  rest  rooms  in 
the  stores  for  the  use  of  the  public. 


Cooperative  Cheese  Factory 

There  is  now  an  active  girls'  canning  club  in  every  community  in  the 
county,  attended  by  the  girls  and  also  by  their  mothers.  There  are  12 
social  clubs  which  meet  regularly;  15  parent-teachers'  and  mothers'  clubs; 
and  there  is  not  a  school  in  the  county  which  does  not  have  some  form  of 
community  meeting.  The  schoolhouses  are  generally  used  for  the  meetings 
of  the  community  clubs.  In  some  instances  farmers  have  given  sufficient 
ground  for  amusement  purposes  at  the  schoolhouses.  Here  may  be  found 
the  ball  diamond,  tennis  court,  and  basket-ball  courts. 

It  is  said  of  this  comity  that  it  "stands  as  a  demonstration 
of  the  effect  of  education  and  organization  under  the  proper 
leadership.  The  town  and  the  county  are  one.  The  result  is 
better  agriculture,  better  business,  and  better  living." 


34 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


Write  a  brief  theme  on  one  of  the  following  topics : 

(a)  The  importance  of  the  telephone  as  a  means  of  cooperation  in  my 
community.  ■' 

(b)  Instances  in  my  community  where  bad  roads  have  caused  a  lack  of 
cooperation. 

(c)  Instances  in  my  community  where  improvement  of  roads  has  led  to 
better  cooperation. 

In  what  ways  do  you  think  there  is  need  for  better  cooperation  in  your 
community  ?  Discuss  this  with  your  parents,  and  report  in  class  the  result 
of  your  talk  with  them. 


'  .1' 

i/''^^ 

H 

I   iw     1 

1 

■  '■         ~           i 

^.is* 

m 

H 

m 

3L^^fl 

^^^^^^1^^^^ 

^ 

Hi 

^HHUhh^^^ 

■^■p^*'^ 

^^^^H^l 

^H 

Farm  Bureau  Executive  CoMinxTEE 


Is  there  any  organized  cooperation  in  your  community  or  county  as  a 
whole  for  the  general  improvement  of  the  community  or  county? 

Investigate  the  organization  and  work  of  a  farm  bureau.  (If  there  is 
none  in  your  county,  write  to  youjJt,State  Agricultural  College  or  to  the 
States  Relations  Service,  DepartmShl  of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.C., 
for  information.     See  references  at  the  end  of  this  chapter.) 

Cooperation  is  as  necessary  for  the  fullest  satisfaction  of  our 
other  wants  as  it  is  in  the  business  of  making  a  living.  In  one 
pioneer  community  there  were  few  "books   and  papers  and 


THE   NEED   FOR   COOPERATION  35 

they  were  handed  about  from  house  to  house."  There  may 
be  comparatively  few  people  in  a  community  who  can  afford 
to  buy  a  hundred  books  each  year ;  but  there  may  py^uc 
easily  be  a  hundred  persons  who  could  buy  one  library  as 
book  each,  and  by  some  arrangement  exchange  ^°^  examp  e 
with  one  another,  so  that  each  could  in  the  course  of  a  year 
have  the  use  of  a  hundred  books.  Neighborhood  clubs  are 
often  organized  to  subscribe  for  magazines  on  this  plan.  A 
public  library  provides  an  arrangement  by  which  a  great 
variety  of  good  reading  matter  can  be  enjoyed  by  the  entire 
community  at  trifling  cost  to  each  member.  In  fact,  we  may 
be  able  to  draw  books  from  such  a  library  without  any  cost  to 
ourselves ;  but  the  books  which  we  thus  enjoy  do  cost  the 
community  a  large  sum  of  money,  and  our  free  enjoyment  of 
them  is  one  of  the  advantages  of  community  cooperation.  Our 
part  in  the  cooperation  is  in  using  the  books  carefully  and  iii 
returning  them  promptly,  so  that  as  many  people  as  possible 
may  have  the  use  of  them. 

The  necessity  for  cooperation  is  by  no  means  limited  to  our 
neighborhood  or  county  or  city.  People  with  common  purposes 
organize  for  cooperation  on  a  state-wide  or  nation-  Nation-wide 
wide  scale.  Following  is  a  list  of  national  organ-  cooperation 
izations  in  the  interest  of  agriculture.  As  our  study  proceeds, 
we  shall  have  abundant  illustration  of  the  value  of  cooperation 
and  of  the  disadvantages  that  follow  from  its  absence. 

Farmers'  Organizations 

American  Cooperative  Association  (Cooperative  League  of  America). 

American  Dairy  Farmers'  Association. 

American  Federation  of  Organized  Farmers. 

American  National  Live  Stock  Association. 

American  Pomological  Society.  , 

American  Poultry  Association. 

American  Society  of  Equity. 

Corn  Belt  Meat  Producers'  Association. 


36 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


Dairy  Cattle  Congress. 

Farm  Women's  National  Congress. 

Farmers'  Educational  and  Cooperative  Union  of  America    (The  Farmers' 

Union). 
Farmers'  Equity  Union. 
Farmers'  National  Congress. 
Farmers'  Society  of  Equity. 
Federation  of  Jewish  Farmers  of  America. 
Gleaners,  The  Ancient  Order  of. 


Location  of  Cooperative  Organizations 
From  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  Bulletin  No.  547. 


Grange,  National  (Patrons  of  Husbandry). 

National  Agricultural  Organization  Society. 

National  Board  of  Farm  Organizations. 

National  Council  of  Farmers'  Cooperative  Associations. 

National  Dairy  Council. 

National  Dairy  Union. 

National  Farmers'  Associations. 

National  Farmers'  Cooperative  Grain  and  Live  Stock  Associations. 

National  Nut  Growers'  Association. 

National  Society  of  Record  Associations. 

National  Swine  Growers'  Association. 


THE  NEED   FOR  COOPERATION 


37 


National  Wool  Growers'  Association. 

National  Women's  Farm  and  Garden  Association. 

Southern  Rice  Growers'  Association. 

Cooperation  is   largely   a   mailer   of  habit.     Habits   can   be 
formed  only  by  practice ;   and  opportunity  to  practice  cooper- 
ation is  abundant  if  we  are  only  on  the  lookout  cooperation 
for  it.     We  shall  find   that  it  not  only  secures 
better  results  in  whatever  we  are  doing,  but  that 
it  also  adds  greatly  to  the  enjoyment  of  life.     Let  us  not  forget 


a  matter 
of  habit 


Farm  Bureau  Cou.\(  il 


that  cooperation  merely  means  "team  work,"  working  together 
for  the  common  good. 

"They  who  cannot  or  will  not  work  together  are  always  in  a 
weak  position  when  brought  into  competition  with  those  who 
can  and  do."  * 

If  there  is  a  public  library  in  your  community,  what  benefits  do  you  get 
from  it?  About  how  many  books  do  you  draw  from  it  in  the  course  of  a 
year?  What  would  these  books  cost  you  if  you  bought  them?  What  do 
they  cost  you  when  you  draw  them  from  the  library? 

1  Carver,  The  Organization  oj  a  Rural  Community,  p.  5. 


38  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

Usually  a  fine  is  imposed  for  keeping  a  book  from  the  library  beyond  a 
specified  time.     Show  why  this  is  proper. 

Do  you  have  the  use  of  a  "traveling  library"  in  your  school  or  commu- 
nity? If  so,  where  do  the  books  come  from?  Show  how  it  secures  co- 
operation. 

Give  examples  of  cooperation  in  your  home,  and  show  what  is  gained  by 
it. 

In  what  ways  do  you  think  that  cooperation  could  be  improved  in  your 
home?     Work  out  a  plan  for  it. 

Give  examples  of  cooperation  in  your  school. 

Suggest  plans  for  more  and  better  cooperation  in  your  school. 

In  what  ways  have  you  cooperated  with  others  during  the  last  month 
for  the  good  of  the  community  in  which  you  live? 

Make  a  list  in  your  notebook  of  ways  in  which  you  think  you  could 
cooperate  with  others  to  promote  the  welfare  of  your  community,  and  add 
to  the  list  from  time  to  time  as  new  opportunities  for  such  cooperation  occur 
to  you. 

Are  any  of  the  national  organizations  in  the  list  on  page  35  represented 
in  your  community?  What  are  their  purposes?  (Consult  parents  and 
friends.) 

READINGS 

Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 

Series  A:   Lesson    i,  Some  fundamental  aspects  of  social  organization. 

Lesson    3,  The  cooperation  of  specialists  in  modern  society. 

Lesson    7,  Organization. 

Lesson    8,  The  rise  of  machine  industry. 
Series  B  :   Lesson    4,  Feeding  a  city. 

Lesson  25,  Concentration  of  production  in  the  meat-packing  industry. 

Lesson  26,  Concentration  in  the  marketing  of  citrus  fruits. 
The  publications  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  have  a  wide 
range  of  material  relating  to  practical  cooperation.     The  following  selected  titles 
are  illustrative : 

The  threshing  ring  in  the  com  belt,  Year  Book  1918,  247-268. 

Boys'  Pig  Club  Work,  Year  Book  1915,  173-188. 

Poultry  Club  Work  in  the  South,  Year  Book  1915,  195-200. 

How  the  whole  county  demonstrated,  Year  Book  1915,  225-248. 

Organization  of  rural  interests.  Year  Book  1913,  239-258. 

Organization  of  a  rural  community,  Year  Book  1914,  89-138. 

Cooperative  purchasing  and  marketing  organizations.  Department  of  Agriculture 

Bulletin  No.  547. 
Cooperative  grain  companies.  Department  of  Agriculture  Bulletin  No.  371. 
Cooperative  stores.  Department  of  Agriculture  Bulletin  No.  394. 


THE  NEED   FOR   COOPERATION  39 

County  Organization,  States  Relations  Service  Document  65. 

Farm  Bureau  Organization,  States  Relations  Service  Document  54. 

See  note  on  reference  material  in  Introduction  with  regard  to  method  of  applying 
for  this  material.     The  assistance  of  the  local  county  agent,  the  state  agricultural 
college,  or  of  the  congressman,  may  be  enlisted  if  necessary'. 
Cooperative  enterprise  in  North  Carolina,  North  Carolina  Club  Year  Book,  1915- 

1916,  pp.  47-49,  University  of  North  Carolina,  Chapel  Hill,  N.  C. 
Publications  of  the  State  Agricultural  College  and  Experiment  Station  of  your  own 

state,  relating  to  cooperation. 
Tufts,  James  H.,  The  Real  Business  of  Living,  chaps,  ii,  iii,  viii,  xv,  xvi. 
Cleveland,  F.  A.,  Four  Essentials  of  Democratic  Government,  I,  IT. 


CHAPTER   IV 
WHY   WE   HAVE   GOVERNMENT 
We  are  now  in  a  better  position  to  understand 

Government  ,  ,  -r      .  i 

a  means  why   we   have   government,     it   is   a   means    by 

to  secure  which  to  secure  cooperation,  or  team  work. 

When  a  schoolhouse  is  built  to-day,  it  is  not 
done  by  combined  manual  labor,  as  in  the  pioneer  community 
(p.  24).  As  in  all  building,  there  is  cooperation 
of  a  highly  organized  kind  in  the  production  and 
assembling  of  the  materials  and  in  the  construction  of  the 
building  by  workmen  of  different  kinds.  But  more  than  this, 
since  the  schoolhouse  is  a  public  building,  the  community 
cooperates  in  paying  for  it.  This  is  done  by  means  of  taxes. 
The  people  pay  taxes  not  only  for  the  building,  but  also  to  meet 
the  cost  of  operating  the  school,  paying  the  teachers,  buying 
equipment,  and  heating  the  building. 

The  community  must  know  how  much  money  is  needed  for 
the  school,  the  taxes  must  be  fairly  apportioned  and  collected, 
and  the  school  must  be  properly  managed  to  perform  the  com- 
munity's work  of  education.  In  small  communities  the  people 
may  meet  together  to  vote  the  taxes  and  to  decide  on  other 
matters  relating  to  education,  as  in  New  England  towns.  But 
there  must  be  leadership,  and  there  must  be  an  organization  to 
perform  the  work  which  the  community  wants  done.  Every 
community  therefore  has  its  board  of  education,  or  school 
committee,  a  superintendent,  and  other  officials.  Such  organ- 
ization corresponds  to  the  board  of  directors  and  business 
manager  of  the  fruit  growers'  association  (p.  27),  only  it 
represents   the  entire  community  and  attends   to   the   com- 

40 


WHY  WE   HAVE   GOVERNMENT 


41 


ihunity's  business  of  education.     It  is  part  of  the  community's 
governing  machinery. 

Ascertain  from  your  father  how  much  school  tax  he  pays  each  year. 
Who  determines  the  amount  of  this  tax?     To  whom  does  he  pay  it? 

Could  you  employ  a  teacher  at  home  for  the  amount  your  father  pays  as 
school  tax  ?  If  you  had  a  teacher  at  home,  could  you  get  as  good  an  educa- 
tion as  you  can  now  get  at  school?     Explain  your  answer. 

In  what  ways  do  you  cooperate  with  the  community  to  make  the  school 
a  success? 


A  Rural  Traveling  Library 

If  there  is  a  public  library  in  your  community,  is  it  supported  by  taxa- 
tion?    Who  manages  the  public  library  for  the  community? 

When  a  building  takes  fire  in  the  country  the  neighbors 
gather  as  quickly  as  possible  to  fight  the  flames  by  such  means 
as  may  be  at  hand,  but  seldom  very  effectively,   in  fire 
In  a  small  city  or  town,  there  may  be  a  volunteer  protection 
fire  company  composed  of  men  who,  when  a  fire  breaks  out, 
leave  their  usual  occupations  to  save  the  property.     In  large 


42  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

cities,  fully  equipped  and  costly  fire  departments  are  main- 
tained, with  paid  firemen  who  are  always  on  duty.  The  police 
usually  keep  the  crowd  away  from  the  burning  building,  not 
only  for  their  own  safety,  but  because  they  would  hinder  rather 
than  help  the  trained  and  organized  firemen.  In  each  case 
there  is  cooperation  for  fire  protection ;  the  greater  the  common 
danger,  the  more  perfect  the  organization  and  the  more  com- 
plete the  control  by  government. 

It  was  once  the  usual  practice,  as  it  still  is  in  some  localities, 
for  each  farmer  to  give  a  certain  number  of  days  each  year  to 
In  road  work  on  the  roads.     Now,  in  the  most  progres- 

bxiilding  sive  communities,  the  roads  are  better  and  more 

uniformly  built  and  kept  in  better  repair  because  they  are 
placed  by  the  community  in  charge  of  skilled  roadmakers  paid 
for  by  taxation.  But  whether  the  farmer  contributes  money 
or  labor,  or  both,  cooperation  is  planned  and  directed  by  the 
government.     (See  Chapter  XVII.) 

In  Benjamin  Franklin's  time,  each  householder  in  Philadel- 
phia swept  the  pavement  in  front  of  his  home  if  he  wanted  it 
In  health  kept  clean.     Franklin,  who  was  a  splendid  example 

protection  Qf  good  citizenship  in  that  he  was  always  looking 
for  opportunities  to  improve  his  community,  tells  what  hap- 
pened : 

One  day  I  found  a  poor  industrious  man,  who  was  willing  to  undertake 
keeping  the  pavement  clean  by  sweeping  it  twice  a  week,  carrying  ofif  the 
dirt  from  before  all  the  neighbors'  doors,  for  the  sum  of  sixpence  per  month 
to  be  paid  by  each  house.  I  then  wrote  and  printed  a  paper  setting  forth 
the  advantages  to  the  neighborhood  that  might  be  obtained  by  this  small 
expense.  ...  I  sent  one  of  these  papers  to  each  house,  and  in  a  day  or 
two  went  around  to  see  who  would  subscribe  an  agreement  to  pay  these 
sixpences ;  it  was  unanimously  signed,  and  for  a  time  well  executed.  This 
raised  a  general  desire  to  have  all  the  streets  paved,  and  made  the  people 
more  willing  to  submit  to  a  tax  for  that  purpose. 

This  was  community  cooperation  under  simple  conditions. 
A  hundred  years  later,  the  one  and  a  half  million  people  living 


WHY  WE  HAVE   GOVERNMENT  43 

in  Philadelphia  were  just  as  truly  cooperating  to  keep  their  city 
clean  by  means  of  more  than  1 200  miles  of  sewers  for  which  they 


Courtesy  American  Magazine  of  Art. 

Benjamin  Franklin 

"A  Splendid  Example  of  Good  Citizenship  " 

Statue  by  Paul  Bartlett  in  front  of  Library,  Waterbury,  Conn. 

had  paid  nearly  35  millions  of  dollars,  and  by  means  of  a  depart- 
ment of  highways  and  street-cleaning  which  employed  a  con- 
tractor to  clean  the  streets  and  to  remove  all  ashes  and  garbage 


44  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

at  an  annual  cost  of  more  than  a  million  and  a  half  dollars. 
This  is  all  under  the  direction  of  the  city  government. 

What  is  true  of  our  local  boards  of  education,  road  super- 
visors, fire  and  street-cleaning  departments,  and  other  depart- 
I     tate  ments  of  our  local  governments,  is  also  true  of 

and  national      state  and  national  governments.     We   shall  not 
*  *"^^  stop  for  illustrations  of  this  now,  because  they 

will  be  numerous  in  later  chapters.     (See,  for  example,  Chapter 
XII.) 

Is  there  a  government  in  your  home?  If  so,  prove  whether  or  not  it  is 
a  means  by  which  the  members  of  the  family  cooperate. 

Describe  the  government  of  your  school  and  show  how  it  secures  co- 
operation. 

If  you  can  get  a  copy  of  Benjamin  Franklin's  Autobiography,  find  in  it 
further  instances  in  which  he  improved  the  cooperation  of  his  community, 
as  for  fire  protection  and  street  lighting. 

Show  how  street  lights  in  town  represent  community  cooperation.  For 
what  purpose  is  this  form  of  cooperation? 

Give  additional  illustrations  to  prove  that  government  in  your  community 
is  a  means  of  cooperation. 

In  what  ways  can  you  cooperate  with  the  school  board  or  trustees  of  your 
community,  and  thus  with  the  community  itself,  for  better  schools? 

A  number  of  boys  whose  lives  were  spent  mostly  in  the  city 
streets  were  once  asked  what  the  word  "government"  sug- 
gested to  them.     Some  of  them  at  once  answered. 
Government       ,  ^,  ,.  .,,.11  i  1     j 

to  help  "The  policeman!       And  when  they  were  asked 

and  not  to  "Why?"  they  replied,  "He  arrests  people,"  "He 
makes  us  keep  off  the  grass  in  the  parks,"  "He 
drives  us  off  when  we  play  ball  in  vacant  lots."  These  answers 
represent  a  common  idea  about  government,  that  it  is  some- 
thing over  us  to  restrict  our  freedom.  Government  does 
restrict  the  freedom  of  individuals  at  times ;  but  one  of  the  best 
illustrations  of  its  real  purpose  is  the  traffic  policeman  in  cities. 
He  stands  at  the  crossing  of  busy  streets,  regulating  the  move- 
ment of  people  and  vehicles  in  such  a  way  as  to  insure  the  safety 


WHY  WE  HAVE   GOVERNMENT 


45 


of  all  and  to  keep  the  intersecting  streams  of  traffic  moving 
smoothly  and  with  as  little  interruption  as  possible.  Now  and 
then  he  leaves  his  post  to  help  a  child  or  an  aged  person  or  a 
cripple  across  the  street ;  or  answers  the  inquiries  of  a  stranger. 
If  now  and  then  he  arrests  a  driver,  it  is  because  the  latter 

disregards  the  rights  or 
welfare  of  others. 

In    small   or    thinly 
settled       communities 
there  may  ^aws  as 
be  no  traf-   signals  of 
fie  police-   <=°°P^^^««° 
man ;    but  there  may 
be  signs  at  the  inter- 
section of  highways  to 
guide      travelers,      or 
warnings     such      as 
"Dangerous    Curve!" 
or     "School:      Drive 
Slowly!"     Such   signs 
are  usually  posted  by 
state  or  local  author- 
ities in  accordance  with 
law.     And  even  where 
there  are  no  signs,  the 
laws    themselves     are 
supposed  to  regulate  traffic.     Some  one  has  compared  the  laws 
in  our  country  to  the  signals  given  to  a  football  team  by  the 
quarterback.     These  signals  are  agreed  upon  in  advance  by  the 
team,  and  tell  each  player  not  only  what  he  himself,  but  also 
what  every  other  player,  is  to  do,  and  thus  team  work  is  se- 
cured.    And  so  our  laws  are  said  to  be  "  signals  of  cooperation," 
just  as  much  as  the  sign  "Drive  Slowly,"  or  as  when  the  traffic 
policeman  holds  up  his  hand  or  blows  his  whistle. 


©  Underuwod  and  Underwood. 

'The  Signal  for  Cooperation  in  a 
City  Street" 

(Traffic  Policeman.) 


46 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


Laws,  however,  are  more  than  "signals"  of  cooperation; 
they  are  also  rules  by  which  cooperation  is  secured  —  "rules 
,  of  the  game."     Wherever  people  are  dependent 

rules  of  upon  One  another  and  work  together  there  must 

the  game  ^^  r\Ae?>  of  conduct.     One  kind  of  rules  consists 

of  what  we  call  "etiquette"  or  "good  manners."  We  have 
doubtless  all  observed  how  much  better  an  athletic  contest 
moves  along,  or  even  the  ordinary  sports  of  the  playground, 


The  Roadside  Sign 


where  good  manners  prevail.  "Good  manners"  include  more 
than  the  "party  manners"  that  we  put  on  and  take  off  on 
special  occasions,  like  "party  clothes."  They  consist  of  the 
accepted  rules  of  behavior  toward  those  with  whom  we  asso- 
ciate. In  the  home,  in  school,  in  business,  in  public  places, 
there  are  "good  manners"  that  are  recognized  by  custom  and 
that  make  the  wheels  move  smoothly  and  without  jar.  We  do 
not  need  a  law  or  a  policeman  to  require  a  man  to  give  way 


WHY  WE   HAVE   GOVERNMENT  47 

to  a  woman,  or  even  to  another  man,  in  passing  throtigh  a 
doorway ;  good  manners  provide  for  this.  Even  on  the  public 
street  much  confusion  is  avoided  by  an  observance  of  good 
manners,  or  custom.  Thoughtful  people  instinctively  turn  to 
the  right  in  passing  others  (in  England  and  Canada  the  custom 
is  to  turn  to  the  left)  without  thinking  whether  there  is  a  law 
on  the  subject  or  not. 

Now  most  of  our  laws  that  regulate  the  conduct  of  indi- 
viduals are  simply  rules  that  experience  has  proved  to  be  of 
the  greatest  advantage  to  the  greatest  number,  Law  gives 
and  that  are  necessary  because  some  people  have  freedom 
not  "good  manners."  Most  people  observe  them,  not  because 
they  are  laws,  but  because  they  are  reasonable  and  helpful  in 
avoiding  friction  and  in  securing  cooperation.  If  they  are 
good  laws,  it  is  only  the  "ill-mannered"  who  are  really  con- 
scious of  their  existence.  Just  laws  restrict  the  freedom  only 
of  the  "ill-mannered,"  while  they  give  freedom  to  those  who 
have  "good  manners." 

What  street  or  highway  signs  are  there  in  your  community?  Who 
placed  them?     Are  they  faithfully  observed?     If  not,  why? 

What  signals  are  there  in  your  school?     Discuss  their  usefulness. 

What  are  some  of  the  "rules"  of  your  school?  Are  they  good  rules? 
Why?  Are  they  an  advantage  or  a  disadvantage  to  yourself  ?  If  they  did 
not  exist,  would  your  own  conduct  be  different?     W^hy? 

What  are  some  of  the  rules  of  good  manners  that  are  supposed  to  control 
conduct  in  your  school?  in  your  home?  in  the  street?  Discuss  their 
reasonableness.     Do  they  enlarge  or  restrict  freedom? 

Do  the  rules  of  football,  or  other  games,  increase  or  decrease  the  freedom 
of  play? 

What  are  some  of  the  laws  that  control  conduct  in  your  community? 
Would  most  people  observe  the  laws  you  mention  even  if  they  were  not 
written  laws,  and  if  there  were  no  penalty  for  failing  to  observe  them? 
Why? 

The  following  story  illustrates  the  difference  between  law 
and  custom,  or  "manners,"  and  how  the  former  may  develop 


48  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

out  of  the  latter.^  There  was  once  a  boys'  school  located  in  an 
8oo-acre  tract  of  land,  in  the  fields  and  woods  of  which  the 
The  origin  boys,  when  free  from  their  studies,  gathered  nuts, 
of  law  trapped  small  animals,  and  otherwise  lived  much 

like  primitive  hunters. 

Just  after  midnight  some  morning  early  in  October,  when  the  first  frosts 
of  the  season  loosened  the  grasp  of  the  nuts  upon  the  limbs,  parties  of  two 
or  three  boys  might  be  seen  rushing  at  full  speed  over  the  wet  fields.  When 
the  swiftest  party  reached  a  walnut  tree,  one  of  the  number  climbed  up 
rapidly,  shook  off  half  a  bushel  of  nuts  and  scrambled  down  again.  Then 
off  the  boys  went  to  the  next  tree,  where  the  process  was  repeated  unless 
the  tree  was  occupied  by  other  boys  doing  likewise.  Nut  hunters  coming 
to  the  tree  after  the  first  party  had  been  there,  and  wishing  to  shake  the 
tree  some  more,  were  required  by  custom  to  pile  up  all  the  nuts  that  lay 
under  the  tree.  Until  this  was  done,  the  unwritten  law  did  not  permit 
their  shaking  any  more  nuts  on  the  ground. 

So  far  this  was  a  custom  accepted  by  the  boys  because  of  its 
reasonableness.  But  after  a  while,  some  members  of  this  boy 
community  thought  to  get  ahead  of  the  other  members.  One 
night  before  frost  came  they  secretly  went  to  the  woods  and 
took  possession  of  most  of  the  nut  trees  by  shaking  them  ac- 
cording to  custom.  When  this  was  discovered,  some  of  the 
leaders  of  the  community  called  a  meeting  of  all  the  boys.  After 
discussing  the  matter  thoroughly,  they  provided  against  a 
repetition  of  the  trick  by  making  a  rule  (passing  a  law)  that 
thereafter  the  harvesting  of  nuts  should  not  begin  before  a  fixed 
date  in  October. 

These  boys  acted  very  much  as  men  have  often  acted  under 
simple  conditions  of  community  life.  The  New  England  "  town 
meeting,"  for  example,  is  precisely  the  same  thing  as  the  boys' 
meeting. 

1  " Rudimentary  Society  among  Boys,"  by  John  Johnson,  in  Johns  Hopkins 
University  Studies  in  Historical  and  Political  Science,  vol.  ii  (1884).  The  story  as 
here  given  is  reproduced  from  Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life,  Series  C,  p. 
145,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education  (Lesson  C-18,  "Cooperation  through  Law,"  by 
Arthur  W.  Dunn). 


WHY  WE  HAVE   GOVERNMENT  49 

We  shall  study  the  organization  and  methods  of  lawmaking 
in  later  chapters.     At  present  we  are  merely  noting  why  we 
have  laws,  and  the  fact  that  they  are  supposed 
to  be  made,  directly  or  indirectly,  by  the  people   gie^gn't*'^ 
themselves.     And  right  here  we  see   the  second  democracy: 
thing  necessary  to  make  a  democracy.     On  page  the  people 
9  we  saw  that  in  a   democracy  all  people  have 
certain  equal  and  "unalienable"  rights,  and  that  that  com- 
munity is  most  democratic  that  affords  its  members  most  nearly 
equal  opportunity  to  enjoy  these  rights.     Now  we  see  further 
that  in  a  democracy  the  people  make  their  own  laws.     More- 
over, the  laws  of  a  democracy  control,  not  only  the  conduct  of 
the  people,  but  also  the  government  itself.     The  government  of 
a  democracy  may  do  only  those  things,  and  use  only  those 
methods,  for  which  the  people  give  the  authority.     It  is  only 
when  government  exercises  power  without  control  by  the  people 
that  it  becomes  autocratic. 

The  purpose  of  our  government  is  clearly  stated  in  two 
historic  documents.     One  of  these  is  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, which  has  already  been  quoted  in  Chap-  Two  historic 
ter  I.     The  same  quotation  is  given  here  with  an  documents 
additional  sentence  in  italics : 

We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident,  that  all  men  are  created  equal, 
that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  unalienable  rights, 
that  among  these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  That,  to 
secure  these  rights,  governments  are  instituted  among  men,  deriving  their  just 
powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed.  .  .  . 

The  second  great  document  is  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  the  preamble  to  which  reads  : 

We,  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a  more  perfect 
union,  establish  justice,  insure  domestic  tranquillity,  provide  for  the  common 
defense,  promote  the  general  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty  to 
ourselves  and  our  posterity,  do  ordain  and  establish  this  Constitution 
for  the  United  States  of  America. 


so 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


Courtesy  A  mcrican  Magazine  of  Art. 

Thomas  Jefferson 

Author  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

Statue  at  the  University  of  Virginia.     By  Karl  Bitter. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  our  government  and  our  laws 

Democracy  a    ^^^  perfect.     They  cannot  be  perfect  as  long  as 

goal  still  to        they  are  made  and  operated  by  imperfect  people, 

e  reac  e         j^  -^  pQggjble,  for  example,  that  the  boys  of  the  city 

(p.  44)   had  a   just  complaint  against   the   government   for 


WHY  WE  HAVE  GOVERNMENT  5 1 

not  permitting  them  to  play  ball  in  vacant  lots,  unless 
the  community  at  the  same  time  provided  them  with  another 
suitable  place  for  the  game  —  for  every  community  should  pro- 
tect the  right  of  its  boys  and  girls  to  play.  We  are  far  from 
having  attained  complete  democracy.  It  is  a  goal  toward 
which  men  are  struggling,  and  have  been  struggling  for 'cen- 
turies —  since  long  before  our  Revolutionary  War,  and  in  other 
countries  as  well  as  in  our  own.  The  great  world  war  which 
began  in  19 14,  and  which  the  United  States  entered  in  191 7, 
was  a  war  to  establish  more  firmly  in  the  world  the  principles 
of  democratic  government.  Whether  these  principles  shall  be 
carried  out  in  practice,  and  whether  our  governments  —  local, 
state,  and  national  —  shall  fulfill  the  purposes  so  clearly  stated 
in  the  preamble  to  the  Constitution,  depends  upon  the  extent 
to  which  each  citizen  understands  these  purposes,  and  cooper- 
ates with  his  fellow-citizens  and  with  his  governments  in  support 
of  them. 

It  is  said  that  in  one  of  the  training  camps  during  the  war 
an  officer  addressed  a  squad  of  new  recruits  as  The  "  right 
foUows :  ^^**  °*  "  " 

Boys,  I  want  you  to  get  the  right  idea  of  the  salute.  I  do  not  want  you 
to  think,  that  you  are  being  compelled  to  salute  me  as  an  individual.  No ! 
When  you  salute  me,  you  are  simply  rendering  respect  to  the  power  I  repre- 
sent; and  the  power  I  represent  is  you.  Now  let  me  explain.  You  elect 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  the  President  of  the  United  States 
grants  me  a  commission  to  represent  his  authority  in  this  army.  His  only 
authority  is  the  authority  that  you  vest  in  him  when  you  elect  him  President. 
Now,  when  you  salute  an  officer,  you  salute  not  the  man,  but  the  representa- 
tive of  your  own  authority.  The  salute  is  going  to  be  rigidly  enforced  in 
this  army,  and  I  want  you  boys  to  get  the  right  idea  of  it.  I  want  you  to 
know  what  you  salute  and  why. 

It  is  very  important  that  we  should  "get  the  right  idea"  of 
what  our  government  is.  It  is  very  much  the  idea  that  the 
officer  gave  his  soldiers  about  the  salute.  It  is  the  idea  con- 
tamed  in  this  chapter :   that  government  is  our  own  organiza- 


52  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

tion  for  team  work  in  community  life.     All  through  this  book 
we  shall  be  engaged  in  discovering  how  far  this  is  true. 

Do  you  know  of  instances  in  which  the  national  government  has  helped 
to  secure  cooperation  among  the  farmers  of  your  locality? 

Discuss  the  parcel  post  as  a  means  of  cooperation. 

During  the  war  with  Germany  the  United  States  government  assumed 
control  of  all  the  railroads  of  the  country.  Show  how  this' was  to  secure 
better  cooperation. 

Is  the  government  of  your  school  democratic  ?  Explain  your  answer. 
Do  you  think  it  should  be  made  more  democratic?     Why? 

Compare  the  purposes  stated  in  the  preamble  to  the  Constitution  with 
the  common  purposes  stated  on  page  6  of  Chapter  I. 

Show  how  the  pupil  who  does  as  he  pleases  in  school  may  interfere  with 
the  rights  and  liberties  of  other  pupils.  Is  it  right  that  his  liberty  should 
then  be  restricted?  Why?  Is  liberty  the  right  to  do  as  one  pleases? 
If  not,  what  is  it? 

Read  together  in  class  the  preamble  to  the  Constitution  and  carefully 
discuss  the  meaning  of  each  phrase. 

READINGS 

Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 

Series  B :   Lesson  17,  The  development  of  a  system  of  laws. 

Series  C :   Lesson  17,  Custom  as  a  basis  for  law. 
Lesson  18,  Cooperation  through  law. 
In  Long's  American  Patriotic  Prose: 

Lincoln,  "Mob  Law,"  pp.  175-177. 

Lincoln,  "Back  to  the  Declaration,"  pp.  i7g-i8i. 

McKinley,  "Liberty  is  Responsibility,  Not  License,"  pp.  254-255. 

The  Declaration  of  Independence,  pp.  67-71. 
Beard,  Chas.  A.,  American  Citizenship,  chap,  i  ("The  Nature  of  Modem  Govern 

ment"). 
Franklin,  Benjamin,  Autobiography. 
Cleveland,  F.  A.,  Four  Essentials  oj  Democratic  Government,  II,  III. 


CHAPTER  V 
WHAT  IS   CITIZENSHIP? 

Before  we  go  further,  let  us  get  a  definite  idea  ^j^^^^  ^^^_ 
of  what  it  means  to  be  a  citizen.  bership 

We  have  frequently  referred  to  the  fact  that  ^^^^^ 
we  are  "members"  of  various  communities.     Our  bodies  have 
members,  such  as  arms  and  hands.     The  tongue  j^^  ^j^^  j^^^^jy 
has  been  called  an  "unruly"  member.     "It  is  a 
Uttle  member  and  boasteth  great  things."  ^ 

There  are  two  important  facts  about  members  of  the  body. 
One  is  that  they  get  their  life  from  the  body.  If  the  hand  is  cut 
off,  it  quickly  ceases  to  be  a  hand  because  it  is  severed  from  the 
source  of  life.  If  the  body  is  seriously  ill,  its  members  are 
unable  to  perform  their  proper  work. 

The  second  important  fact  is  that  the  body  is  dependent  upon 
its  members  for  its  life.  If  the  hand  is  cut  off,  or  an  eye  put 
out,  the  body  does  not  necessarily  die,  but  it  is  seriously  handi- 
capped. If  a  member  is  paralyzed  or  diseased  it  may  be  a 
positive  hindrance  to  the  body,  and  the  disease  may  spread  to 
other  members.  The  body  may  suffer  merely  because  its 
members  are  poorly  trained. 

That  is  what  it  means  to  be  a  member  of  the  body;  and 
membership  in  a  family,  or  a  school,  or  a  club,  or  a  community, 
is  just  the  same.  We  have  already  seen,  and  we  in  the 
shall  see  more  fully  as  we  go  on  with  our  study,  community 
how  completely  we  are  dependent  upon  our  communities  for 
food,  for  the  protection  of  life,  for  education,  and  for  all  else 
that  makes  up  our  life.     The  community  that  does  not  provide 

1  James  iii :  5. 
52 


54 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


for  its  members  in  these  things  is  Hke  a  sick  body.  On  the  other 
hand,  as  members  of  a  community  we  are  always  contributing 
something  to  its  life  —  either  to  its  advantage  or  disadvantage. 
Of  course,  each  of  us  is  only  one  of  a  great  many  members  in 
a  large  community,  and  we  may  seem  to  be  very  unimportant. 
But  each  performs  his  part,  whether  it  be  great  or  small,  and 
whether  he  does  it  well  or  poorly. 


Citizens  in  Training 

"/  pledge  allegiance  to  my  Flag  and  to  the  Republic  for  which  it  stands,  one  nation, 
indivisible,  with  liberty  and  justice  for  all." 

Now.  we  often  speak  of  members  of  a  community  as  citizens 
of  that  community.  Citizenship  means  practically  the  same 
thing  as  membership  in  the  community.  As  a 
good  community  is  one  that  provides  well  for  its 
members,  so  the  good  citizen  is  the  member  who 
does  well  his  part  in  the  life  of  the  community.  A  bad  citizen 
is  the  member  who  hinders  the  progress  of  the  community 
when  he  might  be  helping.     A  citizen  has  certain  rights  and 


Citizenship 

means 

membership 


WHAT  IS   CITIZENSHIP? 


55 


certain  duties.     His  rights  are  what  the  community  owes  him ; 
his  duties  are  what  he  owes  the  community. 

There  are  many  members  of  communities  who  are  Hke  the 
diseased  or  paralyzed  hand,  or  hke  the  hand  that  is  untrained. 
A  member  of  an  athletic  team  who  does  not  "  train  "   Trained  and 
will  probably  be  dropped  from  the  team  —  he  fails  untrained 
to  become  an  athlete.     A  member  of  a  community, 
or  a  citizen,  who  does  not  "train  "  still  remains  a  member,  but 


4 

H^'                r i 

: >'lf^Y *  ^  V'  '     * 

1 

-::i\W^     ^i^BHBUBt  1 

■/^^■^- 

I^^^^Hr^"^         "iSMI 

The  Final  Step  in  Naturalization  in  Court 
Taking  the  Oath  of  Allegiance. 

an  inefficient  one.  He  is  a  handicap  to  his  community  and 
interferes  with  community  team  work.  The  part  that  a  member 
plays  in  community  Hfe  may  be  more  important  than  he  realizes. 
Even  in  small  things,  "the  falling  short  of  one  may  mean 
disaster  to  many."  Each  member  of  a  community,  like  each 
member  of  a  body,  must  be  not  only  in  a  healthy  condition  but 
also  well  trained. 


56 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


Let  us  not  make  the  mistake  of  thinking  that  we  are  not  yet 
citizens  because  we  are  young.  The  Constitution  of  the  United 
Who  are  States  says  that  "aW  persons  born  or  naturahzed  in 

citizens  ^h^  United  States  and  subject  to  the  jurisdiction 

thereof"  (that  is,  subject  to  its  laws)  "are  citizens  of  the  United 
States  and  of  the  state  wherein  they  reside."     Even  persons  born 


Adult  Foreigners  Preparing  for  American  Citizenship 
Note  the  Service  Flag  of  this  class. 

in  foreign  countries  and  who  have  not  yet  been  naturahzed^ 
enjoy  almost  all  the  rights  of  native-born  Americans,  and  there- 
fore have  much  of  the  responsibility  of  citizenship.  Until  they 
are  naturalized  they  are  still  considered  as  members  of  the 
country  from  which  they  came,  and  therefore  as  owing  certain 
duties  to  that  country  which  would  be  inconsistent  with  their 

1  "NaturaUzation"  is  the  legal  process  by  which  persons  of  foreign  birth  renounce 
their  allegiance  to  the  land  of  their  birth  and  pledge  their  allegiance  to  our  govern- 
ment. 


WHAT  IS   CITIZENSHIP?  57 

duties  as  members  of  our  nation.  Therefore  they  are  denied 
certain  political  rights,  such  as  voting  and  holding  office.^  These 
same  poHtical  rights  are  denied  to  native-born  citizens  until 
they  have  reached  maturity.  But  we  must  not  confuse  this 
right  to  vote  with  citizenship. 

Explain  how  the  idea  of  membership  as  described  in  the  text  applies  to 
your  membership  in  the  family;  to  membership  in  a  club;  in  a  church; 
in  a  farmers'  cooperative  organization. 

Can  you  be  a  member  of  your  class  or  school  without  doing  it  either  good 
or  harm?     Explain  your  answer. 

Read  Romans  xii :  4-8  and  James  iii :  5-8. 

Show  how  an  injury  or  a  benefit  to  one  pupil  in  the  school  may  be  an  injury 
or  a  benefit  to  the  entire  school.     Give  illustrations  to  prove  this. 

Show  how  a  failure  to  save  food,  to  buy  savings  stamps,  or  to  perform 
other  service  that  one  is  able  to  perform,  weakened  our  nation  and  other 
nations  who  were  her  allies  during  the  war  with  Germany. 

Make  a  list  of  things  you  have  done  during  the  week  for  the  benefit  of 
your  school ;  for  the  welfare  of  your  neighborhood,  town,  or  school  district. 
Do  you  do  as  much  for  your  family,  school,  or  community  as  they  do  for 
you? 

Turn  to  Amendment  XIV  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
(see  Appendix),  and  read  the  entire  first  section  containing  the  definition 
of  a  citizen.     Discuss  the  meaning  of  the  section. 

At  what  age  does  the  native-born  citizen  acquire  the  right  to  vote  ?  Why 
is  he  not  allowed  to  vote  before  that  time? 

What  native-born  citizens  of  the  United  States  do  not  have  the  right  to 
vote  even  after  they  are  of  voting  age  ? 

READINGS 

In  Long's  American  Patriotic  Prose: 

Doane,  "The  Men  to  Make  a  State,"  pp.  236-238. 
Lane,  "Makers  of  the  Flag,"  pp.  314-316. 
Steiner,  "On  Becoming  an  American  Citizen,"  pp.  317-320. 
Wilson,  "To  Newly-Made  Citizens,"  pp.  322-326. 

1  In  a  few  states  even  unnaturalized  persons  are  allowed  to  vote  after  they  have 
declared  their  intention  of  becoming  citizens. 


CHAPTER  VI 
WHAT  IS   OUR   COMMUNITY? 

In  the  preceding  chapters  we  have  often  spoken  of  "our 
El  t  th  t  community."  As  a  matter  of  fact  each  of  us  is  a 
make  a  member  of  a  number  of  communities.     It  is  time 

community       ^^  consider  just  what  they  are. 

Every  community  of  course  consists  of  a  group  of  people 
who  occupy  a  more  or  less  definite  locality.  Much  depends,  in 
community  life,  upon  the  character  of  both  the  people  and 
the  locality  they  occupy.  But  the  essential  thing  about  a 
community  is  that  the  people  who  comprise  it  are  working 
together  (cooperating)  under  an  organization  (government)  for 
the  common  good  (common  purposes). 

A  neighborhood  of  farmers  with  their  famihes  may  constitute 
a  community.  In  this  case  the  area  occupied  may  be  exten- 
j.  ,         sive  while  the  people  are  few  in  number.     Or  the 

small  community  may  be  a  city  with  a  population  very 

commumties  ja,rge  in  proportion  to  the  area  it  occupies.  There 
are  villages,  towns,  and  small  cities  of  varying  sizes  both  as  to 
population  and  area.  Each  state  in  our  Union  is  a  community 
and  so  is  the  nation  itself  because  each  is  composed  of  a  group 
of  people  (very  large  in  these  cases),  occupying  a  definite  terri- 
tory (also  large),  and  having  a  government  through  which  the 
people  are  working  for  common  ends.  There  is  a  world  com- 
munity, but  it  is,  as  yet,  very  imperfect.  The  nations  and 
peoples  that  comprise  it  have  been  slow  to  recognize  their 
common  purposes  and  have  so  far  failed  to  develop  adequate 
means  of  cooperation.     (See  Chapter  VIII.  ) 

58 


WHAT  IS  OUR   COMMUNITY?  59 

Is  your  class  a  community  ?  (Apply  the  definition  given  above.)  What 
common  interests  has  it  ?  Has  it  any  government  or  laws?  Is  your  school 
a  community?     Apply  the  same  tests  as  above. 

Is  your  home  a  community?  What  are  some  of  its  common  interests? 
Are  there  laws  in  your  family? 

What  are  some  of  the  things  in  which  your  family  and  your  nearest 
neighbors  have  a  common  interest  because  of  living  close  together?  Do 
your  family  and  your  neighbors  work  together  to  provide  for  these  interests? 

What  are  some  of  the  things  in  which  all  the  people  of  your  city  or  village 
(or  the  one  nearest  to  you)  have  a  common  interest,  and  which  the  city,  or 
village,  government  helps  to  provide  for? 

A  community  of  farmers  has  interests  of  its  own,  largely 

centering  around  farming  activities,  or  the  social  life  of  the 

local  neighborhood.     A  few  miles  away  is  a  village  ,  ^    ^ 

°  -^  Interdepend- 

or  city  whose  people  also  have  their  own  peculiar  ence  of  rural 

interests,  such  as  the  lighting  of  the  streets  at  ^"**  "*y  .^. 

.  1-111  communities 

night,  or  the  building  of  a  new  high  school,  or  the 

election  of  a  mayor.  Yet  there  are  interests  common  to  both 
the  farming  community  and  the  city  community.  The  city 
is  dependent  upon  the  country  for  its  food  supply,  and  the 
farmers  are  dependent  upon  the  city  for  their  market.  Prob- 
ably some  of  the  farmers  send  their  children  to  the  city  schools. 
Thus  city  and  rural  communities  are  bound  together  into  a 
larger  community  with  interests  common  to  both. 

In  the  early  days  of  western  settlement  a  community  was  founded  in 
Illinois.  It  was  an  agricultural  community,  but  in  the  midst  of  it  a  village 
grew,  which  in  the  course  of  time  became  a  small  city.  One  of  the  first 
settlers  was  a  young  farmer  with  a  mechanical  turn  of  mind.  He  began 
experimenting  to  improve  the  methods  of  planting  grain.  The  result 
was  the  invention  of  a  corn  planter,  the  manufacture  of  which  became  one 
of  the  chief  industries  of  the  growing  city,  employing  hundreds  of  men  and 
sending  machines  to  all  parts  of  the  world.  Another  young  farmer  invented 
a  better  plow  than  those  which  had  been  in  use,  the  manufacture  of  which 
became  another  of  the  city's  industries.  In  those  pioneer  days  each  family 
usually  made  its  own  brooms,  but  one  young  man  in  this  community  earned 
his  way  through  the  local  college  by  making  brooms  from  corn  raised  on  the 
college  farm.    The  college  cornfield  disappeared  in  the  course  of  time,  but 


60  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

on  one  part  of  it  there  grew  up  a  broom  factory  employing  a  large  number 
of  workmen.  These  city  industries  were  thus  literally  "children  of  the  soil, " 
and  the  city's  prosperity  depended  upon  the  agriculture  of  the  surrounding 
region.  On  the  other  hand,  the  city  provided  the  farmers  with  improved 
plows  and  corn  planters,  furnished  them  an  immediate  market  for  their 
products,  supplied  them  with  goods  through  its  shops  and  stores,  and  gave 
education  to  hundreds  of  farmers'  children  in  its  schools  and  college. 

Sometimes  jealousies  and  antagonisms  arise  between  small 
neighboring  communities,  and  especially  between  rural  and 
city  communities.  This  interferes  with  the  prog- 
rural  and  ress  of  both  communities,  and  of  the  larger  com- 
city  team  munity  of  which  each  is  a  part.  It  may  be 
proposed  to  build  a  township  high  school.  It 
is  natural  that  the  several  communities  that  comprise  the 
township  should  each  want  it.  But  the  interest  of  the  entire 
township  should  be  considered  in  determining  the  location 
of  the  school,  and  not  merely  the  advantage  of  one  local  dis- 
trict as  against  others.  It  sometimes  happens  that  the  people 
of  a  city  are  exempted  from  taxation  for  county  purposes 
outside  of  the  city,  although  the  benefits  would  be  almost 
if  not  quite  as  great  for  the  city  as  for  the  country.  (See 
p.  248  for  an  illustration  of  this.)  This  sort  of  thing  serves 
to  set  off  city  and  country  against  each  other  instead  of 
binding  them  together  to  their  mutual  advantage.  The 
case  of  Christian  County,  Kentucky,  described  in  Chapter 
III,  p.  32,  is  an  excellent  illustration  of  team  work  between 
city  and  country  in  the  interest  of  the  entire  county,  and  of 
the  results  achieved  by  it. 

In    this  chapter   there   are    three    maps   of   Dane    County, 

Wisconsin,   which   show  how   small   communities,   both  rural 

and  urban,  are  united  into  a  large  community,  the 
Small  com-  i       i     t       •  1 

munities    '      county.      Map   I   shows   the  school  districts  and 

unite  in  \}^q  townships  which  comprise  the  county.     The 

large  ones  •  r   -^m-    %•  •  1  in 

City  of  Madison  occupies  the  center,  and  small 

towns  and  villages  are  scattered  here  and  there.     The  country 


WHAT  IS  OUR  COMMUNITY? 


6l 


school  is  the  chief  center  of  interest  in  each  school  district. 
Here  and  there  through  the  county  are  high  schools.  Each  of 
these  is  a  center  of  a  larger  irregular  area,  including  a  number  of 
school  districts  and  parts  of  several  townships  as  shown  in 
map  2.      Map    3  shows  trade  areas.      Trade  and   education 


Ttvii  tiiin 

Map  I  —  The  Country  School  Districts  of  Dane  County,  Wisconsin 


are  two  of  the  chief  interests  that  bind  people  into  communi- 
ties. But  where  these  interests  exist,  there  are  likely  to  be 
other  interests ;  the  high  school  is  likely  to  be  a  meeting  place 
for  social  and  recreational  purposes. 

The  area  and  boundaries  of  a  "farming"  or  "rural  neighbor- 
hood" community  are  usually  rather  indefinite  and  changeable, 
depending  upon  surface  features  and  upon  transportation 
conditions,  or  the  length  of  the  "day's  haul."  With  improved 
roads  and  better  means  of  transportation  larger  areas  and  more 


62 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


people  are  included.  A  "neighborhood"  or  "trade  area"  with 
automobiles  is  much  larger  than  one  where  horses  or  ox  carts 
are  used  exclusively.  The  consolidated  school  with  transpor- 
tation provided  for  pupils  (see  pp.  294-296)  expands  the  rural 
neighborhood  community. 


Map 


Rural  Areas  of  High  School  Inflxjence 


Each  small  circle  represents  one  rural  pupil  attending  high  school  and  is  located  at 
the  farmstead.  The  arrow  points  toward  the  high  school  attended.  Each  irregular 
curve  incloses  nearly  all  the  rural  pupils  attending  the  same  high  school.  The  black 
circles  represent  rural  pupils  attending  high  schools  in  Madison.  The  partial  ir- 
regular curves  group  together  pupils  attending  a  near-by  high  school  outside  the 
county.     Note  the  parts  of  the  county  without  high  school  advantages. 


Each  of  the  small  dots  on  map  3  represents  a  farm  home. 
If  we  select  one  of  these  dots  and  imagine  ourselves  members 
of  the  family  that  lives  there,  we  shall  see  that  we  are  mem- 
bers of  a  certain  school  district,  of  a  certain  township,  of  a 
community  that  has  grown  up  around  a  trade  center  and  a  high 


WHAT  IS  OUR  COMMUNITY? 


63 


school,  and  of  course  of  the  county  as  a  whole.     No  matter 

in  what  school  district  we  live,  we  have  an  interest 

•  1      1  1       /•     11  Common 

in  some  matters  m  common  with  the  people  of  all  interests  of 

other  school  districts  in  the  county.     For  example,  *h®  larger 

'  ,  community 

there  is  a  state  university  at  Madison,  and  con- 
nected with  it  is  a  training  school  for  teachers.     The  work 


Map  3  —  Trade  Areas  of  Dane  County 

done  here  influences  the  teaching  in  all  the  schools  of  the  county, 
and  indeed  of  the  whole  state.  There  is  also  an  agricultural 
college  at  the  state  university  which  serves  the  farmers  through- 
out the  entire  county  and  state.  If  we  look  closely  at  map  3, 
we  shall  see  how  highways  and  railroads  center  at  Madison, 
which  is  the  county  seat  of  Dane  County  and  the  capital  of  the 
state  of  Wisconsin. 

Just  as  the  many  small  communities  that  make  up  a  county 


64  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

are  dependent  upon  one  another,  requiring  organized  coopera- 
tion for  the  county  welfare,  so  all  the  counties  of  a  state,  and 
all  the  people  who  live  in  all  the  counties,  are  interdependent  in 
many  ways.  The  people  of  the  city  of  Madison,  for  example, 
depend  for  their  food  supply  upon  the  farmers  not  only  of 
Dane  County  but  of  the  entire  state.  The  university  at 
Madison  serves  not  Dane  County  alone,  but  the  people  of  all 
the  counties  of  the  state.  The  public  schools  of  the  state 
should  be  equally  good  in  all  counties  and  managed  by  a  uni- 
form plan.  Roads  and  other  means  of  transportation  are  a 
matter  of  concern  to  the  entire  state.  And  so  the  state  is  a 
community,  organized  with  a  government  to  secure  cooperation 
among  all  the  people  and  all  the  smaller  communities  that 
compose  it.  In  fact,  a  large  part  of  the  business  of  the  govern- 
ments of  the  local  communities,  such  as  city  and  county  and 
township,  is  to  administer  the  laws  of  the  central  state 
government. 

In  a  similar  manner,  the  forty-eight  states  of  the  Union,  with 
all  the  counties  and  smaller  communities  of  which  they  consist, 
comprise  our  great  national  community,  of  which  we  are  all 
members. 

When  we  speak  of  "our  community"  we  are  likely  to  think 
at  once  of  the  small  community  immediately  around  us  —  our 
, .  neighborhood,  village,  or  city.  Our  citizenship 
in  the  larger  in  these  local  communities  is  extremely  important, 
communities  ^^^  ^-^y^^  demand  no  small  part  of  our  attention. 
But  it  is  equally  important  to  be  fully  alive  to  our  citizenship 
in  the  larger  communities.  This  is  true  wherever  we  live; 
but  there  is  a  sense  in  which  our  national  community  is  pecu- 
liarly important  to  those  of  us  who  live  in  rural  communities. 
The  wants  of  people  in  cities  are,  as  a  rule,  looked  after  more 
completely  by  their  local  governments  than  is  the  case  in  rural 
communities. 

The   people  of   rural  communities,  and  especially  farmers 


WHAT  IS   OUR   COMMUNITY?  6$ 

m 

themselves,  are  directly  served  by  the  national  government  in 
a  great  variety  of  ways.  In  the  next  chapter  we  shall  consider 
our  nation  as  a  community. 

Show  how  the  different  classes  of  your  school  are  bound  together  by 
interests  common  to  the  entire  school.  Compare  this  union  of  classes  with- 
the  union  of  states  into  a  nation.  What  constitutes  the  govermnent  of  your 
school  ? 

Mention  some  things  in  which  all  the  people  of  your  county  have  a  special 
interest.     Are  these  things  of  equal  interest  to  farmers  and  town  people? 

Do  the  farmers  and  town  people  of  your  county  work  well  together,  or 
are  there  conflicts  between  them?  If  there  are  conflicts,  what  are  the 
causes? 

Point  out  some  ways  in  which  the  prosperity  and  welfare  of  the  farmers 
of  your  locality  depend  upon  a  neighboring  city  or  town.  Also  some 
ways  in  which  the  city  or  town  depend  upon  the  neighboring  farmers. 

If  there  is  organized  cooperation  in  your  county,  similar  to  that  described 
on  page  32,  has  it  been  brought  about  or  encouraged  by  government,  or 
solely  by  voluntary  effort  on  the  part  of  citizens?  If  the  government  had 
anything  to  do  with  it,  was  it  the  county  government,  state  government, 
or  national  government? 

Has  farm  land  increased  or  decreased  in  value  in  your  locality  since  your 
father  was  a  boy?  Can  you  show  a  relation  between  this  change  in  value 
of  farm  land  and  the  growth  of  near-by  towns  or  cities? 

What  industries  in  your  town  (or  a  neighboring  town)  are  dependent 
upon  farming  for  their  raw  materials  ?  for  the  sale  of  their  product  ? 

WHiat  is  the  cotton  gin?  the  spinning  jenny?  Show  how  these  inven- 
tions were  a  beenfit  to  agriculture.  How  did  they  promote  the  growth  of 
cities  ? 

Make  a  map  of  your  school  district.  Do  the  people  of  this  district 
cooperate  in  matters  other  than  those  pertaining  to  the  school  ? 

On  a  map  of  your  county  show  approximately  the  "trade  area"  served 
by  the  "trade  center"  nearest  you.  For  what  other  purposes  besides  trade 
do  the  farmers  of  this  trade  area  come  to  the  trade  center? 

On  a  map  of  your  county  show  the  area  from  which  pupils  come  to  the 
high  school  nearest  you. 

On  a  map  of  your  state  show  the  principal  "railroad  centers."  Show  how 
these  are  the  centers  of  larger  trade  areas  corresponding  to  the  small  trade 
areas  of  your  county.  Show  how  the  farmers  and  the  residents  of  these 
railroad  centers  have  common  interests. 


66  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


READINGS 

Dunn,  Arthur  W.,  The  Community  and  the  Citizen,  chaps,  i-iii. 

Galpin,  C.  J.,  "The  Social  Anatomy  of  an  Agricultural  Community,"  Research 
Bulletin  34,  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  University  of  Wisconsin,  Madi- 
son, Wis. 

Gillette,  John  M.,  Constructive  Rural  Sociology  (Sturgis  &  Walton  Co.,  New  York), 
chap,  iv  ("Types  of  Communities"). 

Small  and  Vincent,  An  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Society  (American  Book  Co.), 
Book  II,  chaps,  i-iv. 


CHAPTER  VII 

OUR  NATIONAL   COMMUNITY 

It  is  important  to  get  the  habit  of  thinking  of  our  nation  as 

a  community,  just  as  we  think  of  our  school  or  town  or  rural 

neighborhood  as  one.     This  is  not  always  easy  to  ,     . 

,  r  •      1  •  Til  Imperfections 

do  because  of  its  huge  size  and  complicated  char-   of  our 

acter.     It  would  be  wrong,  too,  to  get  the  idea  national 

community 
that  it  IS  a  perfect  community  — •  none  of  our  com- 
munities is  perfect.  Conflicts  of  interest  are  often  more  appar- 
ent than  community  of  interest.  Team  work  among  the 
different  parts  and  groups  that  make  up  our  nation  is  often 
very  poor.  Although  our  government  is  a  wonderfully  good 
one,  it  is  still  only  an  imperfect  means  of  cooperation.  Our 
nation  is  far  from  being  a  complete  democracy,  for  there  are 
many  people  in  it  who  do  not  have  the  full  enjoyment  of  life, 
liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness ;  and  large  numbers  of  our 
"self-governing"  people  really  have  little  or  no  part  in  gov- 
ernment. 

It  need  not  give  us  an  unpatriotic  feeling  to  acknowledge  the 
imperfections  of  our  nation  or  of  our  government;  for  com- 
munities grow,  not  only  in  size,  but  also  in  ability  Loyalty 
to  perform  their  proper  work,  just  as  individuals  *°  ideals 
do.  We  call  a  person  conceited  who  thinks  that  he  is  perfect, 
especially  if  he  boasts  of  it.  But  his  conceit  is  itself  an  imper- 
fection and  a  hindrance  to  growth.  So  the  patriotic  citizen  is 
not  one  who  is  unable  to  see  defects  in  his  community,  or  who 
refuses  to  acknowledge  them,  but  one  who  has  high  civic  ideals 
and  is  loyal  to  them,  who  understands  in  what  respects  these 

67 


68  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

ideals  have  not  been  reached,  and  who,  as  a  member  of  the 
community  (see  p.  53),  contributes  everything  he  can  to  keep 
it  growing  in  the  right  direction. 

"The  problem  of  government  is  after  all  the  problem  of  human  growth. 
....  The  one  constant  and  inconstant  quantity  with  which  man  must 
deal  is  man  —  changing,  inert,  impulsive,  limited,  sympathetic,  selfish, 
aspiring  man.  His  institutions,  whether  social  or  political,  must  come  out 
of  his  wants  and  out  of  his  capacities.  Luther  Burbank  has  not  yet  made 
grapes  to  grow  on  thorns  or  figs  on  thistles.  Neither  has  any  system  of 
government  made  all  men  wise  .  .  ."  —  Franklin  K.  Lane. 

Is  it  possible  for  a  community  to  be  100  per  cent  perfect?     Why? 

What  people  in  your  community  take  no  part  in  government? 

May  people  who  cannot  vote  have  any  influence  upon  government? 
Explain. 

Has  a  good  citizen  a  right  to  criticize  his  government?  What  is  the 
difference  between  helpful  and  harmful  criticism? 

What  is  an  "ideal"?  a  "civic  ideal"? 

It  is  easier  now  than  usual  to  think  of  our  nation  as  a  com- 
munity, because  the  war  with  Germany  served  to  arouse  our 
Welding  of        "national   spirit,"   and   showed   very   clearly   the 
the  nation         importance  in  our  national  life  of  those  elements 
^  *"  which  characterize  all  community  life  — •  common 

purpose,  interdependence,  and  organized  cooperation  (see 
Chapters  I-III).  The  creation  of  a  National  Army  did  much 
to  bring  this  about. 

When  the  benefits  which  come  to  the  nation  through  the  creation  of  the 
national  army  are  catalogued,  the  fact  that  it  has  welded  the  country  into  a 
homogeneous  society,^  seeking  the  same  national  ends  and  animated  by  the 
same  national  ideals,  will  overtop  all  other  advantages.  The  organization 
of  the  selected  Army  fuses  the  thousand  separate  elements  making  up  the 
United  States  into  one  steelhard  mass.  Men  of  the  North,  South,  East, 
and  West  meet  and  mingle,  and  on  the  anvil  of  war  become  citizens  worthy 
of  the  liberty  won  by  the  first  American  armies.^ 

*  "Homogeneous  society"  —  a  society  or  community  all  of  whose  parts  and 
members  have  like  purposes  and  interests. 

2  Major  Granville  R.  Fortesque,  in  National  Geographic  Magazine,  Dec,  1917. 


OUR   NATIONAL  COMMUNITY 


69 


How  this  welding  of  the  parts  of  the  nation  together  was  brought 
about  by  the  war  is  suggested  by  the  words  of  an  old  Confeder- 
ate soldier  who  wrote  to  a  friend  in  the  North : 

"  During  the  war  between  the  states  I  was  a  rebel,  and  continued  one 
in  heart  until  this  great  war.  But  now  I  am  a  devoted  follower  of  Uncle 
Sam  and  endorse  him  in  every  respect." 


Immigrants  from  Other  Lands 
Landing  at  Ellis  Island,  New  York  Harbor. 

The  fact  that  our  nation  contained  in  its  population  large 
numbers  of  people  from  practically  every  country  of  Europe 
caused   no   little   anxiety   when   we   entered   the  y.. 
European  war.     Our  population  embraces  a  hun-   elements  in 
dred  different  races  and  nationalities.     Of  these  °^  ^^^'o^ 
ten  million  are  negroes  and  three  hundred  thirty-six  thousand 
Indians.     Thirty-three  million  are  of  foreign  parentage,  and  of 
these   thirteen   million  are  foreign-born.     Five  million  do  not 
speak  English,  and  there  are  one  thousand  five  hundred  news- 
papers in   the   United   States  printed   in   foreign   languages. 


70 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


Five  and  one  half  million  above  the  age  of  ten  years,  includ- 
ing both  foreign  and  native,  cannot  read  nor  write  in  any 
language.  New  York  City  has  a  larger  Hebrew  population 
than  any  other  city  in  the  world,  contains  more  Italians 
than  Rome,  and  its  German  population  is  the  fourth  largest 
among  the  cities  of  the  world.  Pittsburgh  has  more  Serbs 
than  the  capital  of  Serbia.  It  is  said  that  there  were  more 
Greeks  subject  to  draft  in  the  American  army  than  there  were 


i 

M 

^ 

1 

1 

'"^^^^^^^^^^^^H^^^l 

Forty-four  Nationalities  —  All  Americans 

in  the  entire  army  of  Greece.  Would  all  these  people  be  loyal 
to  our  nation,  or  would  they  divide  it  against  itself? 

The  war  in  fact  showed  us  that  there  were  some  among  us 
who  had  never  really  become  "members"  of  our  nation  (see 
Lovaitv  of  P'  S-^-^'  ^^^  ^^°  "^ere  dangerous  to  our  peace  and 
diverse  safety.     It  also  showed  us  the  danger  that  comes 

e  emen  s  from  the  presence  of  so  many  illiterates,  or  of  those 

who  cannot  use  the  English  language ;  for  such  people,  even 
though  loyal  in  spirit  to  the  United  States,  cannot  understand 
instructions  either  in  the  army  or  in  industry,  and  otherwise 


OUR  NATIONAL  COMMUNITY 


71 


prevent  effective  cooperation.  And  yet  the  most  striking  thing 
that  the  war  showed  us  in  regard  to  this  mixed  population  is 
that  the  great  niass  of  it,  regardless  of  color  or  place  of  birth, 
is  really  American  in  spirit  and  loyal  to  our  flag  and  the  ideas 
which  it  represents. 


A  Strike  Scene  —  All  Work  Suspended 


Another  weakness  within  our  nation  that  the  war  empha- 
sized is  the  lack  of  harmony  between  wage  earners  and  their 

employers.     There    were    many    sharp    conflicts  ^^   . 

^     -^  National 

between  them.     Strikes  occurred,  or  were  threat-   safety 

ened,  in  factories,  shipyards,  mines,  and  railroads,   depends  on 
'  7         r-y  7  7  ^  harmony 

that  blocked  the  wheels  of  mdustry  at  a  time 
when  the  nation  needed  to  strain  every  nerve  to  provide  the 
materials  of  war.  This  lack  of  harmony  between  workmen  and 
employers,  which  in  war  threatened  our  national  safety,  has 
existed  for  many  years  and  has  always  been  an  obstacle  to 
national  progress.  But  the  common  purpose  of  winning  the 
war  caused  employers  and  wage  earners,  in  most  cases,  to 


72  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

adjust  their  differences.  In  nearly  every  case  one  side  or  the 
other,  or  both  sides,  yielded  certain  points  and  agreed  not  to 
dispute  over  others,  at  least  for  the  period  of  the  war.  The 
national  government  did  much  to  bring  this  about  by  the 
creation  of  labor  adjustment  boards  to  hear  complaints  from 
either  side  and  to  settle  disputes.  If  our  national  community 
life  is  to  develop  in  a  wholesome  way,  complete  cooperation 
between  workmen  and  employers  must  be  secured  and  made 
permanent  on  the  basis  of  interests  that  are  common  to  both. 

Such  facts  as  these  show  how  easy  it  is,  in  a  huge,  complex 
community  like  our  nation,  for  conflicts  to  arise  among  different 
Th  ff  t  f  sections  and  groups  of  the  population ;  and  how 
a  common  difflcult  it  is  always  to  see  the  common  interests 
purpose  ^j^^^  g^-g^^     ^^^  ^j^gy  ^jgQ  ^Yiow  how  such  conflicts 

tend  to  disappear  when  a  situation  arises  which  forces  us  to 
think  of  the  common  interests  instead  of  the  differences.  All 
else  was  forgotten  in  the  common  purpose  to  "win  the  war." 
No  sacrifice  was  too  great  on  the  part  of  any  individual  in 
order  that  this  national  purpose  might  be  served.  Everywhere 
throughout  the  country,  in  cities  and  in  remote  rural  districts, 
service  flags  in  the  windows  testified  that  the  homes  of  the 
land  were  offering  members  that  the  nation  and  its  ideals  might 
live.  Men,  women,  and  even  children  contributed  their  work 
and  their  savings  and  denied  themselves  customary  comforts 
to  help  win  the  war.  The  entire  nation  was  working  together 
for  a  common  purpose. 

We  have  said  that  this  common  purpose  was  to  "win  the 
war."  But  there  were  purposes  that  He  much  deeper  than 
Our  national  this,  without  which  it  would  not  have  been  worth 
purpose  while  to  enter  the  war  at  all.     As  we  saw  in  Chap- 

ter I,  our  nation  is  founded  on  a  belief  in  the  right  of  every 
one  to  life  and  physical  well-being;  to  be  secure  in  one's 
rightful  possessions ;  to  freedom  of  thought  -—  education,  free 
speech,  a  free  press;    to  freedom  of  religion;    to  happiness  in 


OUR  NATIONAL   COMMUNITY  73 

pleasant  surroundings  and  a  wholesome  social  life ;  and,  above 
all,  to  a  voice  in  the  government  which  exists  to  protect  these 
rights.  It  was  to  secure  a  larger  freedom  to  enjoy  these  rights, 
"for  ourselves  first  and  for  all  others  in  their  time,"  that  our 
nation  was  solidly  united  against  the  enemy  that  threatened  it 
from  without.  But  it  was  with  this  same  purpose  that  the 
War  of  Independence  was  fought,  that  our  Constitution  was 
adopted,  that  slavery  was  abolished,  that  millions  of  people 
from  foreign  lands  have  come  to  our  shores.  It  is  this  common 
purpose  that  makes  the  great  mass  of  foreigners  in  our  country 
Americans,  ready  to  fight  for  America,  if  necessary  even  against 
the  land  of  their  birth.  It  is  this  for  which  the  American  flag 
stands  at  all  times,  whether  in  peace  or  in  war. 

What  proof  can  you  give  of  a  "national  spirit"  in  your  locality  during  the 
war? 

WTiat  evidence  can  you  give  to  show  that  this  national  spirit  is  or  is  not 
as  strong  since  the  war  closed? 

What  was  the  "National  Army"?  the  "National  Guard"?  Which  of 
these  organizations  was  most  likely  to  develop  a  "national  spirit"?  Why? 
What  good  reasons  can  you  give  for  the  action  of  the  government  in  con- 
solidating the  Regular  Army,  the  National  Army,  and  the  National  Guard 
into  a  "United  States  Army"? 

What  arguments  can  you  give  in  favor  of  requiring  all  instruction  in  the 
public  schools  to  be  given  in  the  English  language? 

What  arguments  can  you  give  in  favor  of  teaching  lessons  in  citizenship 
in  foreign-language  newspapers? 

What  foreign  nationalities  are  represented  in  your  locality? 

Make  a  blackboard  table  showing  the  nationality  of  the  parents  and 
grandparents  of  each  member  of  your  class. 

Give  illustrations  to  show  that  "winning  the  war"  was  the  controlling 
purpose  in  your  community  during  the  war. 

In  what  way  has  the  war  made  you  think  about  the  right  to  life  and  the 
need  for  physical  well-being?  about  security  in  property?  about  freedom 
of  thought?  about  the  desirability  of  an  education?  about  the  right  of 
people  to  pleasant  surroundings?  about  self-government? 

Show  how  the  Spanish-American  war  was  fought  for  the  same  purpose 
as  that  mentioned  in  the  paragraph  above. 

Write  a  brief  theme  on  "What  the  Flag  Means  to  Me," 


74  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

The  attempt  to  work  together  in  the  war  made  it  very  ap- 
parent how  dependent  the  nation  is  upon  all  its  parts,  and  how 
National  dependent  each  part  is  upon  all  the  others.     It  was 

interde-  often  said  that  "the  farmers  would  win  the  war." 

pen  ence  ^^  other  times  it  was  said  to  be  ships,  or  fuel,  or 

airplanes,  or  railroad  transportation,  or  trained  scientists  and 
technical  workers.  The  truth  is,  of  course,  that  all  these  things 
and  many  more  were  absolutely  necessary,  and  that  no  one  of 
them  would  have  been  of  much  value  without  all  the  others. 

It  is  true  that  the  winning  of  the  war  depended  upon  the 
farmers,  because  they  are  the  producers  of  the  food  and  of  the 
raw  materials  for  textiles  without  which  the  nation  and  every 
group  and  person  in  it  would  have  been  helpless.  But  the 
farmer  could  not  supply  food  to  the  nation  without  machinery 
for  its  production,  and  without  city  markets  and  railroads 
and  ships  for  its  distribution.  Machinery  could  not  be  made, 
nor  ships  and  locomotives  built,  without  steel.  For  the  manu- 
facture of  steel  there  must  be  iron  and  fuel  and  tungsten  and 
other  materials.  And  for  all  these  things  there  must  be  inventors 
and  skilled  mechanics,  and  to  produce  these  there  must  be 
schools.  And  so  we  could  go  on  indefinitely  to  show  how  the 
war  made  us  feel  our  interdependence.  What  we  need  to 
understand,  however,  is  that  this  interdependence  is  characteristic 
of  our  national  life  at  all  times ;  the  war  only  made  us  feel  it  more 
keenly. 

During  the  war,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  while  we  were 
devoting  our  national  energies  to  the  work  of  destruction 
Nation-  incident  to  war,  we  as  a  nation  made  astonishing 

building  in  progress  in  many  ways  other  than  in  the  art  of 
wartime  ^^^ — -^^    ^j^^^^    ^^    might    call    nation-building. 

In  some  ways  we  made  progress  in  a  year  or  two  that  under 
ordinary  circumstances  might  have  required  a  generation.  A 
striking  illustration  of  this  is  in  the  development  of  a  great 
fleet  of  merchant  ships  at  a  rate  that  would  have  been  impos- 


OUR  NATIONAL  COMMUNITY 


75 


sible  before  the  war.  Beginning  with  almost  nothing  when  the 
war  began,  we  had,  in  less  than  two  years,  a  merchant  fleet 
larger  than  that  of  any  other  nation,  and  that  in  spite  of  the 
constant  destruction  of  ships  by  the  enemy.  The  chairman  of 
the  shipping  board  of  the  United  States  government  says  that 
this  is  because  the  necessities  of  the  war  made  the  whole  nation 
see  how  much  it  depends  upon  ships,  and  caused  not  only  ship- 
builders, but  also  engineers  and  manufacturers  and  business  men 


Endeavoring  to  Adjust  Industrial  Differences 

The  members  of  the  Second  Industrial  Conference  called  after  the  war  by 
President  Wilson. 


and  the  navy  department  of  the  government,  and  many  others, 
to  concentrate  upon  this  problem,  with  the  result  that  we  dis- 
covered methods  of  shipbuilding,  and  of  loading  and  unload- 
ing and  operating  ships  when  they  were  built,  that  will  probably 
enable  us  to  maintain  permanently  a  merchant  marine,  the 
lack  of  which  we  have  deplored  for  many  years. 

In  a  similar  way  we  discovered  and  brought  into  use  valuable 
natural  resources  of  whose  existence  we  had  largely  been  igno- 
rant and  for  which  we  had  been  dependent  upon  other  nations. 


76 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


We  made  astonishing  progress  in  scientific  knowledge,  and 
especially  in  the  application  of  this  knowledge  to  invention 
and  to  industrial  enterprises.  We  developed  a  new  interest 
in  agriculture,  and  learned  the  food  values  of  many  products 
that  had  formerly  been  neglected.  We  were  led  to  attack  seri- 
ously the  great  problem  of  suitable  housing  for  workmen,  and 


Courtesy  American  Magazine  of  Art. 
The  Fifty  Shipways  of  Hog  Island 
From  a  painting  by  John  C.  Johansen. 

had  an  important  lesson  in  the  relation  between  wholesome 
home-Hfe  and  industrial  efficiency  (see  Chapter  X,  pp.  112-113). 
Foundations  were  laid  for  the  adjustment  of  the  unfortunate 
differences  that  have  long  existed  between  workmen  and  their 
employers.  The  war  suggested  changes  in  our  educational 
methods,  some  of  which  will  doubtless  become  effective,  to  the 


OUR  NATIONAL  COMMUNITY  77 

great  improvement  of  our  public  schools,  colleges,  and  technical 
schools. 

We  shall  study  some  of  these  things  more  fully  in  later  chap- 
ters. They  are  mentioned  now  to  illustrate  how  our  national 
progress  was  stimulated  when  the  war  forced  us  to  see  the  relation 
of  all  these  things  to  one  another  and  to  the  accomplishment  of  our 
national  purpose.  On  the  other  hand,  failure  to  recognize  this 
national  interdependence  means  slow  progress  as  a  national 
community.  When  the  war  began,  our  nation  was  said  to  be 
"unprepared."  In  so  far  as  this  was  true  —  and  it  was  true  in 
many  particulars  —  it  was  because  in  the  times  of  peace  before 
the  war  we  had  not  thought  enough  about  the  dependence  of 
our  national  strength  and  safety  upon  all  these  factors  in  our 
national  life  working  together.  And  so,  in  the  times  of  peace 
after  the  war,  if  the  purposes  for  which  our  nation  fought  are  to 
be  fulfilled,  we  must  continue  to  profit  by  this  lesson  which  the 
war  has  taught  us. 

Recall  your  discussion  of  national  interdependence  in  connection  with 
your  study  of  Chapter  II. 

Report  on  some  of  the  important  scientific  and  commercial  developments 
resulting  from  the  war ;  as,  for  example, 

The  development  of  the  commercial  use  of  the  airplane 
The  development  of  new  food  supplies 
The  production  of  fertilizer  from  the  nitrogen  of  the  air 
The  development  of  new  industries  in  the  United  States 
Changes  in  methods  of  farming. 
What  are  some  changes  in  education  that  are  likely  to  result  from  the 
war? 

Show  how  the  strike  of  coal  miners  in  191 9  affected  the  life  of  the  nation. 


The 


The  "working  together"  of  all  these  interde- 
pendent   parts    is    the    important    thing.     "The  "supreme 
supreme  tes 
dent  Wilson 
together."  ^ 


supreme  test  of  the  nation  has  come,"  said  Presi-  ^^^\ "  °^  ^^^ 

nation 
dent  Wilson.     "We  must  all  speak,  act,  and  serve 


1  Message  to  the  American  People,  April  15,  1917. 


78  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

It  is  not  an  army  that  we  must  shape  and  train  for  war  ...  it  is  a 
Nation.  To  this  end  our  people  must  draw  close  in  one  compact  front 
against  a  common  foe.  But  this  cannot  be  if  each  man  pursues  a  private 
purpose.  The  Nation  needs  all  men,  but  it  needs  each  man,  not  in  the  field 
that  will  most  pleasure  him,  but  in  the  endeavor  that  will  best  serve  the 
common  good.  .  .  .  The  whole  Nation  must  be  a  team,  in  which  each  man 
must  play  the  part  for  which  he  is  best  fitted.^ 

We  had  some  suggestion  on  page  72  of  how  such  national 
team  work  became  a  fact.  "Do  your  bit!"  was  the  watch- 
The  nation  word.  It  was  splendid  to  see  how  personal  in- 
as  a  team  terests  gave  way  before  the  desire  to  serve  the 
nation.  It  is  a  thrilling  story  how  the  racial  elements  in  our 
population  forgot  their  differences  of  race  and  language  and 
remembered  only  that  they  were  American;  how  employers 
and  employees  laid  aside  their  differences ;  how  farmers  and 
business  men,  manufacturers  and  mechanics,  miners  and  woods- 
men, inventors  and  teachers,  women  in  the  home  and  chil- 
dren in  the  schools,  doctors  and  nurses,  and  every  other  class 
and  group  subordinated  their  personal  interests  to  the  one 
national  purpose  of  winning  the  war  in  order  that  "the  world 
might  become  a  decent  place  in  which  to  live." 

As  soon  as  the  United  States  entered  the  war  Washington, 
the  nation's  capital,  became  filled  with  people  from  all  parts 
of  the  country  who  wanted  to  help  in  some  way.  Some  were 
called  there  by  the  government ;  others  came  to  volunteer  their 
services  and  to  offer  ideas  that  they  thought  useful.  Many 
came  as  representatives  of  organizations  —  business  and  in- 
dustrial organizations,  scientific  associations,  civic  societies. 
New  committees  and  associations  were  formed,  until  the  num- 
ber of  voluntary  citizen  organizations  eager  to  do  "war  work" 
became  almost  too  numerous  to  remember.  They  were  all  an 
indication  of  the  desire  of  the  people  to  do  their  part  in  the 
national  enterprise. 

1  Conscription  Proclamation,  May  i8,  1917. 


OUR  NATIONAL  COMMUNITY 


79 


But  there  followed  a  period  of  confusion.     All  these  organ- 
izations and  the  people  whom  they  represented  wanted  to  help, 
but  they  did  not  always  know  just  what  to  do  nor  confusion 
how  to  do  it.     Each  organization  had  its  own  ideas  without 
which  it  often  magnified  above  all  others.     Differ-  °^^^°^^^  °° 
ent  organizations  wanted  to  accomplish  the  same  purpose,  but 
wanted  to  do  it  in  different  ways.     Often  they  duplicated  one 
another's  efforts.     A  war  could  not  be  won  under  such  condi- 
tions.-   But  out  of  all  this  confusion  there  finally  developed 


Bethlehem  Steel  Works,  Bethlehem,  Pa. 

order,  and  this  was  because  the  various  organizations  of 
people  realized  that  if  they  were  to  accomplish  anything 
they  must  work  in  cooperation  with  the  national  government, 
whose  business  it  was,  after  all,  to  organize  the  nation  for 
united  action.  In  fact  it  was  for  this  reason  that  they 
came  to  Washington.  Many  of  them  sought  to  influence 
the  government  to  adopt  this  or  that  plan,  and  sometimes 
succeeded ;  but  it  was  the  government  that  finally  decided  what 
plans  were  to  be  adopted,  and  all  of  the  effort  of  the  numerous 


8o  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

organizations  and  of  individuals  must  be  brought  into  harmony 
with  these. 

The  period  of  the  war  afforded  many  striking  examples  of 
national  cooperation  secured  by  the  government.     It  may  have 
seemed  sometimes  that  our  government  interfered 
team  Tork        with  personal  freedom  to  an  unreasonable  extent, 
through  as  when  it  limited  the  amount  of  coal  we  could 

governmen       ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^  prices  of  many  articles,  determined 

the  wages  that  should  be  paid  for  labor,  took  over  the  manage- 
ment of  the  railroads  and  of  the  telegraph  and  telephone  lines, 
and  did  many  other  things  that  it  never  had  done  in  time  of 
peace.  We  expected  government  to  exercise  powers  in  war 
time  that  it  would  not  be  permitted  to  exercise  in  time  of  peace. 
But  it  can  be  shown  that  even  during  the  war  the  government, 
with  all  its  unusual  powers,  did  not  ''ride  rough-shod"  over  the 
people,  but  sought  to  "make  them  partners  in  an  enterprise 
which  after  all  was  their  own."  The  nation  was  fighting  for 
its  life  and  for  the  very  principles  upon  which  it  was  founded, 
and  it  was  necessary  that  cooperation  should  be  complete  and 
effective.  This  was  what  the  government  sought,  and  it  exer- 
cised its  powers  by  inviting  and  obtaining  national  cooperation 
to  a  remarkable  extent. 

Our  national  army  was  created  by  a  "selective"  draft,  or 

conscription.     Conscription   had   formerly   been   looked   upon 

with  disfavor  as  a  form  of  forced  military  service. 

dra«^as*an^^    A  volunteer  army  was  thought  to  be  more  in  har- 

Uiustration        mony   with   a   democratic   form   of   government. 

earn  wor      ^^^  ^^^  ^^^^^  .^  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^  ^^  ^^^  ^^^^  democratic 

than  a  volunteer  army  because  it  treats  all  able-bodied  men 
alike,  instead  of  leaving  the  fighting  to  those  who  are  most 
courageous  and  most  patriotic  while  those  who  are  inclined  to 
shirk  may  easily  do  so.  Moreover,  the  selective  draft  means 
the  selection  of  men  to  serve  in  the  capacity  for  which  they 
are  best  fitted.     In  Great  Britain,  under  a  volunteer  system,  and 


OUR  NATIONAL   COMMUNITY 


in  France,  under  a  system  of  compulsory  military  service  for  all 
men,  thousands  of  brave  men  went  to  the  trenches  in  the  early 
days  of  the  war  who,  because  of  their  training,  should  have  been 
kept  at  home  to  perform  the  vast  amount  of  skilled  labor  and 
scientific  work  which  this  war  demanded.  War  industry,  with- 
out which  there  could  be  no  fighting,  was  thus  greatly  hampered. 


The  Council  of  National  Defense 

Those  seated  are  the  Cabinet  members  of  the  Council.  They  are,  from  left  to 
right,  Secretaries  Houston  (Agriculture),  Daniels  (Navy),  Baker  (War),  Lane 
(Interior),  and  Wilson  (Labor). 

By  our  selective  draft,  on  the  other  hand,  while  every  man  was 
expected  to  do  his  share,  each  was  selected  as  far  as  possible  to 
do  the  thing  which  he  could  do  best  and  therefore  which  would 
best  serve  the  country.  It  also  sought  to  prevent  those  who 
had  families  dependent  upon  them  from  going  to  war  until 
they  were  absolutely  needed.  Thus  the  selective  draft  is  an 
example  of  government  organizing  our  national  man-power  for 
more  effective  team  work  and  with  less  hardship  than  if  it  had 
been  left  to  voluntary  action. 


82  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

The  United  States  Food  Administration  was  created  by  the 
President  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  a  law  passed  by  Con- 

erress  ''to  provide  further  for  the  national  security 
Team  work        "  ^  -> 

through  the  ^nd  defense  by  encouraging  the  production,  con- 
food  admin-  serving  the  supply,  and  controlling  the  distribu- 
istration  .  ...  iriiirniT-.-! 

tion  of  food  products  and  fuel.        The  President 

placed  at  its  head  a  man  in  whom  the  people  of  the  country 
had  great  confidence  because  of  his  experience  and  success  in 
organizing  and  managing  the  Belgian  relief  work,  Mr.  Herbert 
Hoover.  He  gathered  around  him  men  familiar  with  the  prob- 
lems relating  to  the  food  supply  of  the  nation,  and  then  pro- 
ceeded to  enlighten  the  country  in  regard  to  the  nature  of  these 
problems  and  to  seek  for  the  cooperation  of  the  people  in  solving 
them. 

As  soon  as  he  was  appointed,  the  food  administrator  issued  a 
statement  containing  the  following  facts : 

Whereas  we  exported  before  the  war  but  80,000,000  bushels  of  wheat  per 
annum,  this  year  we  must  find  for  all  our  allies  225,000,000  bushels,  and  this 
in  the  face  of  a  short  crop.  .  .  .  France  and  Italy  formerly  produced  their 
own  sugar,  while  England  and  Ireland  imported  largely  from  Germany. 
Owing  to  the  inability  of  the  first-named  to  produce  more  than  one  third 
of  their  needs,  and  the  necessity  for  the  others  to  import  from  other  markets, 
they  must  all  come  to  the  West  Indies  for  their  very  large  supplies,  and 
therefore  deplete  our  resources. 

If  we  can  reduce  our  consumption  of  wheat  flour  by  i  pound,  our  meat 
by  7  ounces,  our  sugar  by  7  ounces,  our  fat  by  7  ounces  per  person  per  week, 
these  quantities  multiplied  by  100,000,000  (the  population  of  the  United 
States)  will  immeasurably  aid  and  encourage  our  allies,  help  our  own  grow- 
ing armies,  and  so  effectively  serve  the  great  and  noble  cause  of  humanity 
in  which  our  nation  has  embarked. 

This  illustrates  how  the  Food  Administration  sought  coopera- 
tion. It  "made  partners"  of  the  people,  explained  to  them 
Democracy  a  the  situation,  and  asked  them  to  help  as  individuals, 
partnership  ^  showed  the  nation  what  it  must  do  if  it  were  to  be 
successful  in  its  undertaking.     It  is  true  that  the  President  had 


OUR  NATIONAL  COMMUNITY  83 

large  powers  to  enforce  observance  of  the  rules  outlined  by  the 
Food  Administration,  but  it  was  only  in  the  exceptional  case  of 
the  individual  consumer  and  producer  who  refused  to  cooperate 
for  the  common  good  that  it  became  necessary  to  use  the  power. 
The  method  of  democracy  is  to  point  out  clearly  how  the  de- 
sired result  may  be  obtained  and  to  depend  upon  the  people  to 
govern  themselves  accordingly. 

After  a  year  of  the  war  a  member  of  the  Food  Administration 
is  quoted  as  saying/  "There's  never  been  anything  like  it  in 
history.  .  ,  .  We  asked  the  American  people  to  do  voluntarily 
more  than  any  other  people  has  ever  been  asked  to  do  under 
compulsion.     And  the  American  people  made  good  ! " 

What  was  true  in  the  unusual  time  of  war  is  true  to  even  a 
greater  extent  in  the  ordinary  time  of  peace.  We  have  little  to 
fear  from  our  national  government  as  long  as  we  and  those  to 
whom  we  intrust  its  management  always  keep  in  mind  its  real 
purpose,  which  is  to  show  us  how  to  work  together  effectively 
as  a  nation  and  to  help  us  to  do  it. 

All  through  this  study  we  are  going  to  observe  how  in  the 
ordinary  affairs  of  life  our  national  government  serves  us  in 
this  respect.  One  thing  that  we  need  especially  Every  man 
to  learn  is  that  we  have  a  great  national  purpose  counts 
all  the  time,  in  peace  as  well  as  in  war.  In  fact,  peace  is  a  part 
of  that  purpose.  We  went  to  war  because  without  it  there  could 
be  no  assurance  of  a  lasting  peace.  While  we  fought  to  defend 
our  national  purpose  and  our  national  ideals  against  a  powerful 
foe  from  without,  this  purpose  and  these  ideals  cannot  be  fully 
achieved  by  the  war  alone.  They  can  be  finally  achieved  only 
by  ourselves  as  we  develop,  day  by  day,  our  national  community 
life.  To  do  this  we  must  always  keep  in  mind  our  great  national 
purpose,  we  must  realize  our  dependence  upon  one  another  in 
achieving  this  purpose,  and  we  must  make  our  national  team 

1  In  an  article  on  "Your  Wheatless  Days,"  by  W.  A.  Wolff,  in  Collier's  Weekly, 
Aug.  17,  1918. 


84  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

work  as  perfect  as  it  can  be  made.  Above  all,  we  must  realize 
that,  in  peace  as  in  war,  every  man  counts  in  our  national  com- 
munity life.     As  President  Wilson  said  : 

"  The  Nation  needs  all  men,  hut  it  needs  each  man.  .  .  . 
^^The  whole  Nation  must  be  a  team,  in  which  each  man  shall 
play  the  part  for  which  he  is  best  fitted. ^^ 

Read  and  discuss  President  Wilson's  "Message  to  the  American  People," 
of  April  15,  191 7. 

What  organizations  existed  in  your  community  to  secure  team  work  for 
war  purposes? 

Show  how  boys'  and  girls'  clubs,  or  the  School  Garden  Army,  made 
cooperation  possible  on  a  national  scale.  Is  this  true  in  peace  times  as  well 
as  in  war  time? 

Is  there  greater  or  less  need  of  national  team  work  to-day  than  during 
the  war?     Explain  your  answer.  v 

What  evidences  are  there  that  the  team  work  of  our  nation  has  not 
been  as  good  since  the  war  as  during  the  war?     Why  is  this? 

Show  how  universal  military  training  might  increase  the  national  spirit. 
What  arguments  can  you  give  against  it  ? 

Should  or  should  not  the  food  administration  of  war  time  be  continued  in 
peace  time?     Why? 

What  does  it  mean  to  you  to  be  an  American  ? 

READINGS 

In  Long's  American  Patriotic  Prose: 

Van  Dyke,  "The  Blending  of  Races,"  p.  4. 

De  Crevecceur,  "The  American,"  p.  38. 
i    Webster,  "Imaginary  Speech  of  John  Adams,"  p.  77. 

Brooks,  "The  Fourth  of  July  in  Westminster  Abbey,"  p.  89. 

Van  Dyke,  "The  Americanism  of  Washington,"  pp.  135-137. 

Jay,  "Unity  as  a  Protection  against  Foreign  Force  and  Influence,"  p.  139. 

Webster,  "Liberty  and  Union  Inseparable,"  p.  158. 

Lincoln,  "Gettysburg  Speech,"  p.  181. 

Lincoln,  "Second  Inaugural  Address,"  p.  183. 

Whitman,  "Two  Brothers,  One  North,  One  South,"  p.  201, 

Wilson,  "Spirit  of  America,"  p.  266. 

Roosevelt,  "True  Americanism,"  p.  270. 

Wilson,  "Conscription  Proclamation,"  p.  283. 

Hughes,  "What  the  Flag  Means,"  288. 


OUR  NATIONAL   COMMUNITY  85 

Eliot,  "Five  American  Contributions  to  Civilization,"  p.  310. 
Lane,  "Makers  of  the  Flag,"  p.  314- 
McCall,  "America  the  Melting  Pot,"  p.  320. 
Wilson,  "To  Newly-Made  Citizens,"  p.  322. 
Gibbons,  "The  Republic  Will  Endure,"  p.  340. 
Eliot,  "What  Americans  Believe  In,"  p.  361. 
Abbott,  "Patriotism,"  p.  362. 
In  Foerster  and  Pierson's  American  Ideals: 
Wilson,  "Conscription  Proclamation,"  p.  175. 
Wilson,  "Americanism  and  the  Foreign-Born,"  p.  178. 
Alderman,  "Can  Democracy  be  Organized?"  p.  158. 


CHAPTER   VIII 
A   WORLD    COMMUNITY 

Is  there  a  world  community?  A  world  torn  by  war,  as  our 
world  was  from  1914  to  1918,  may  not  seem  to  give  much  evi- 
dence of  it,  and  many  would  at  once  answer  "No"  to  our  ques- 
tion. And  yet  such  phrases  as  the  "brotherhood  of  man"  and 
the  "  cause  of  humanity  "  are  familiar  to  us  all.  We  may  briefly 
discuss  the  question  in  this  study,  because  if  there  is  such  a 
community  we  are  all  members  of  it,  and  our  membership  in  it 
affects  our  lives  as  individuals  and  as  a  nation. 

The  world  community  is  certainly  very  imperfectly  developed, 

but  while  the  war  emphasized  its  imperfections,  it  also  furnished 

evidence  of  its  reality.  Its  existence  depends  upon 
What  the  ,1  j-  •      j  j 

war  disclosed    ^^^  presence  of  recognized  common  purposes  and 

with  regard       of    organized    team  work  in  accomplishing  these 
to  a  world  .      ,,  r  -^  t^i 

communitv       purposes,  as  ni  the  case  01  any  community.     Ihe 

war  disclosed  conflicting  interests  among  the  na- 
tions ;  but  it  united  for  a  common  purpose  a  larger  part  of  the 
world's  population  than  had  ever  before  acted  together  in  a 
common  cause.  It  disclosed  an  interdependence  among  the 
nations  and  the  peoples  of  the  world  that  we  had  not  thought 
of.  And  while  it  disclosed  the  weakness  of  the  world's  organiza- 
tion for  team  work,  it  aroused  us  to  the  possibilities  of  such 
organization,  made  us  long  for  it,  and  brought  us,  as  many 
believe,  a  step  nearer  to  its  accomplishment. 

Separated  by  wide  oceans  from  the  rest  of  the  world,  our 

nation  grew  and  prospered  with  a  sense  of  security 

n.II16FlCfl.'s 

detachment       from  the  conflicts  that  from  time  to  time  disturbed 
from  the  t^g  Qi(j  World.     We  early  adopted  a  policy  of 

avoiding  entanglements  that  might  draw  us  into 
these  conflicts.     In  his  Farewell  Address  Washington  said : 

86 


A  WORLD   COMMUNITY  87 

The  great  rule  of  conduct  for  us  in  regard  to  foreign  nations  is,  in  extend- 
ing our  commercial  relations,  to  have  with  them  as  little  political  connection 
as  possible.  .  .  .  Why,  by  interweaving  our  destiny  with  that  of  any  part 
of  Europe,  entangle  our  peace  and  posterity  in  the  toils  of  European  ambi- 
tion, rivalship,  interest,  humor,  or  caprice?  It  is  our  true  policy  to  steer 
clear  of  permanent  alliances  with  any  portion  of  the  foreign  world. 

A  few  years  later,  President  Monroe  issued  his  famous  state- 
ment known  as  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  which,  recognizing  the 
principle  that  Washington  had  stated,  also  denied  the  right  of 
European  powers  to  interfere  with  the  free  growth  of  the 
republican  nations  of  North  and  South  America.  The  United 
States  has  steadfastly  held  to  this  doctrine  from  that  day  to 
this. 

But  great  changes  have  come  to  the  world  since  the  time  of 
Washington.  The  use  of  steam  in  navigation,  the  submarine 
cable  and  wireless  telegraphy  have  brought  all  the  j^  .. 
world  into  closer  relations  than  existed  between  become  close 
New  England  and  the  Southern  States  in  the  early  neighbors 
days  of  our  national  life.  Our  government  at  Washington  may 
send  messages  to  European  capitals  and  receive  a  reply  within 
ten  minutes.  The  Atlantic  has  been  crossed  by  airplane.  The 
nations  of  the  world  have  become  very  close  neighbors.  The 
murder  of  a  prince  in  a  little  city  of  central  Europe  drew  from 
millions  of  homes  in  America  their  sons  to  fight  on  the  soil  of 
Europe.  We  entered  the  war  because  our  interests  were  so 
closely  bound  up  with  those  of  the  world  that  we  could  not 
keep  out;  because  ''what  affects  mankind  is  inevitably  our 
affair,  as  well  as  the  affair  of  the  nations  of  Europe  and 
Asia." 

The  war  did  not  create  this  interdependence ;  it  only  empha- 
sized it.  But  now  that  we  are  aware  of  it,  it  will  probably 
influence  our  lives  to  a  much  greater  extent  than  before  the  war. 

The  nations  that  were  associated  against  Germany  occupy, 
with  their  dependencies,  two  thirds  of  the  earth's  surface  and 


88  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

include  more  than  four  fifths  of  its  population.  The  govern- 
ments of  these  nations  declared  that  they  were  fighting  pri- 
What  the  marily,  not  for  selfish  interests    such   as  "  ports 

world  was  and  provinces  and  trade,"  but  "for  the  common 
g  ng  or  interests  of  the  whole  family  of  civilized  nations  — 
for  nothing  less  than  the  cause  of  mankind."^  Even  if  some  of 
the  governments  were  influenced  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  by 
selfish  motives,  they  still  recognized  a  common  interest  of  the 
peoples  of  the  world,  ^  "cause  of  mankind,"  and  based  their 
appeals  upon  it.  The  prime  minister  of  England  said,  "We 
must  not  allow  any  sense  of  revenge,  any  spirit  of  greed,  any 
grasping  desire,  to  overcome  the  fundamental  principles  of 
righteousness."  Far-away  Siam  declared  that  she  entered  the 
war  "to  uphold  the  sanctity  of  international  rights  against 
nations  showing  a  contempt  for  humanity."  And  little  Guate- 
mala proclaimed  that  she  had  "from  the  first  adhered  to  and 
supported  the  attitude  of  the  United  States  in  defense  of  the 
rights  of  nations,  of  liberty  of  the  seas,  and  of  international 
justice."  Our  President  said  that  "what  we  demand  in  this 
war  is  nothing  peculiar  to  ourselves.  It  is  that  the  world  be 
made  fit  and  safe  to  live  in  for  every  peace-loving  nation.  .  .  . 
All  the  peoples  of  the  world  are  in  effect  partners  in  this  interest." 
The  avowed  purpose  for  which  the  United  States  entered  the 
war,  and  for  which  "all  the  peoples  of  the  world  are  in  effect 
partners,"  is  the  same  as  that  for  which  the  American  Revolu- 
tionary War  was  fought,  which  was  proclaimed  in  our  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  and  for  which  America  has  always  stood 
—  the  equal  right  of  all  men  to  "life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit 
of  happiness,"  and  to  self-government.  Nearly  the  whole 
world  was  united  against  a  few  autocratic  governments  that 
denied  these  rights. 

At  the  time  of  the  American  Revolution  the  colonists  had  no 
desire  to  fight  the  English  people,  but  revolted  against  the 

1  Stuart  P.  Sherman,  Americaji  and  Allied  Ideals,  p.  14. 


A  WORLD    COMMUNITY  89 

autocratic  English  government  of  that  time,  which  refused  to 

recognize  the  rights  of  the  people.     The  English  people  had 

many  times  fought  for  these  rights,  and  many  of  . 

them  sympathized  with  the  American   colonists,    fought  for 

The  winnins;  of  American  independence  was  a  vie-  ^^^  freedom 

•     T-      1        1  11  •       °^  others 

tory  for  free  government  in  England  as  well  as  m 

America,  and  the  government  of  England  to-day  is  as  demo- 
cratic as  our  own.  This  understanding  about  the  American 
Revolution  throws  light  upon  what  the  President  of  the 
United  States  meant  when  he  said  that  we  fought  Germany 
for  "the  ultimate  peace  of  the  world  and  for  the  liberation 
of  its  peoples,  the  German  peoples  included.''^  Another  writer 
said,  "We  are  not  fighting  to  put  the  Germans  out  but  to  get 
them  in." 

It  has  taken  a  long  time  for  the  peoples  of  the  world  to 
develop  a  sense  of  their  common  wants  and  purposes.     Differ- 
ences in  language,  in  race  and  color,  in  reUgious  ^j^^  g^o^th 
beliefs  and  observances,  in  forms  of  government,   of  human 
even  in  such  matters  as  dress  and  other  habits   ^y™P^    ^ 
and  customs,  have  tended  to  obscure  the  common  feelings  of 
all.     This  lack  of  sympathetic  understanding  is  suggested  by 
Shylock,  in  Shakespeare's  Merchant  of  Venice: 

Hath  not  a  Jew  eyes?  hath  not  a  Jew  hands,  organs,  dimensions,  senses, 
aflfections,  passions?  fed  with  the  same  food,  hurt  with  the  same  weapons, 
subject  to  the  same  diseases,  healed  by  the  same  means,  warmed  and  cooled 
by  the  same  Winter  and  Summer,  as  a  Christian  is?  If  you  prick  us,  do 
we  not  bleed?  if  you  tickle  us,  do  we  not  laugh?  if  you  poison  us,  do  we  not 
die?  and  if  you  wrong  us,  shall  we  not  revenge?  if  we  are  like  you  in  the  rest, 
we  will  resemble  you  in  that. 

Increased  opportunity  for  travel,  better  means  of  communica- 
tion, and  more  widespread  education  have  greatly  increased 
the  understanding  among  peoples  and  nations,  and  have  dis- 
closed to  view  common  purposes  and  ideals  in  spite  of  differences. 
The  fact  that  large  numbers  of  people  from  every  part  of  the 


90  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

globe  have  come  to  the  United  States  to  hve  together  as  one 
nation  has  contributed  to  the  same  result. 

Give  illustrations  from  your  own  experience  and  reading  to  show  that 
differences  in  dress,  language,  race,  and  customs  make  sympathetic  under- 
standing difficult. 

What  is  meant  by  "America,  the  melting-pot "? 

As  the  peoples  of  the  world  have  become  better  acquainted, 
International  individuals  and  groups  have  tended  to  associate 
cooperation  themselves  together,  regardless  of  national  bound- 
aries, for  the  promotion  of  common  interests. 

One  example  of  this  is  the  common  movement  of  organized  labor  which 
has  overstepped  national  boundaries. 

There  is  an  International  Institute  of  Agriculture,  with  headquarters 
at  Rome,  and  representing  56  countries,  the  purpose  of  which  is  to  promote 
better  economic  and  social  conditions  among  agricultural  populations  of  the 
world.     Some  of  its  publications  are  published  in  five  languages. 

Literature  and  art  bind  all  the  world  together,  and  science  knows  no 
national  boundary  lines.  Christianity  is  one  of  the  greatest  influences  for 
a  "brotherhood  of  man."  Differences  in  religious  belief  have  presented 
most  difficult  barriers  to  overcome,  but  there  has  been  a  steadily  increasing 
tolerance  of  one  religious  faith  toward  others. 

These  are  only  a  few  of  hundreds  of  illustrations  that  might  be  given. 

We  have  all  become  familiar,  during  the  war,  with  the  work 
of  the  Red  Cross.  No  other  organization  has  done  more  to  ex- 
g  .  ,  tend  the  feeling  of  common  brotherhood  in  the 
the  Red  world  and  the  spirit  of  world  service.     During  the 

^^°^^  war  a  Junior  Department  of  the  Red  Cross  was 

organized,  enrolling  in  its  membership  about  twelve  million 
American  boys  and  girls  and  organizing  them  for  practical 
service  to  war-stricken  Europe  and  Asia.  Since  the  war,  the 
Junior  Red  Cross,  whose  headquarters  are  at  Washington, 
D.  C,  has  undertaken  to  use  its  organization  to  promote  cor- 
respondence among  boys  and  girls  of  different  lands,  and  an  ex- 
change of  handiwork,  pictures,  and  other  things  illustrative  of 


A  WORLD    COMMUNITY 


91 


their  interests.  The  American  School  Citizenship  League  (405 
Marlboro  Street,  Boston)  is  encouraging  the  same  idea,  and 
there  is  a  Bureau  of  French-American  Education  Correspondence 
for  a  similar  purpose,  with  headquarters  at  the  George  Peabody 
College  for  Teachers,  Nashville,  Tenn. 


Courtesy  American  Magazine  of  A  ri. 

The  Pan- American  Building,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Numerous  international  peace  congresses  have  been  held,  the 
first  one  as  early  as  1843,  and  in  the  United  States  and  other 
countries  organizations  exist  for  the  promotion  of  r^^^  move- 
friendly  relations  among  the  nations,  and  espe-  mentfor 
cially  for  the  substitution  of  arbitration  for  war  as  "^^^    ^^^^^ 
a  means  of  setthng  international  disputes. 

Among  such  organizations  in  the  United  States  are  the  League  to  Enforce 
Peace,  the  Carnegie  Endowment  for  International  Peace,  the  American 
Peace  and  Arbitration  League,  the  American  Peace  Society,  the  World 
Peace  Federation,  the  Church  Peace  Union. 


92  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

What  may  be  gained  by  correspondence  between  the  young  people  of 
different  lands? 

Report  on  the  following  (see  references) : 

The  work  of  the  Pan-American  Union 

The  work  of  the  Red  Cross  in  war  and  peace 

One  of  the  most  successful  experiments  in  international 
cooperation  is  that  of  the  North  and  South  American  republics. 
Pan-American  The  first  Pan-American  Conference,  attended  by 
Union  delegates  from  the  twenty-one  American  republics, 

was  held  in  Washington,  D.  C,  in  1889.  As  a  result  of  this 
Conference  the  Pan-American  Union  was  established,  with 
permanent  headquarters  in  Washington.  Its  purpose  is  "the 
development  of  commerce,  friendly  intercourse,  and  good  under- 
standing among  these  countries." 

To  secure  anything  like  effective  team  work  among  the  na- 
tions for  the  common  interest  and  to  substitute  arbitration 
International  for  war  as  a  means  of  settling  differences,  there 
government  must  be  some  kind  of  international  organization, 
and  rules  to  which  the  governments  of  the  nations  will  agree. 
Civilized  nations  have  always  had  their  official  means  of  dealing 
with  one  another  through  their  governments,  such  as  the 
diplomatic  and  consular  services.  Alliances  have,  from  time 
immemorial,  been  made  between  nations,  treaties  have  been 
solemnly  agreed  to,  and  a  body  of  international  law  has  gradually 
grown  up.  But  treaties  and  international  law  have  frequently 
been  violated,  and  no  international  government  has  existed 
with  sufficient  authority  or  power  to  force  nations  to  observe 
the  law  or  to  keep  their  agreements.  As  a  result  of  two  peace 
conferences  held  at  The  Hague  .in  Holland,  in  1899  and  1907, 
an  international  Court  of  Arbitration  was  estabhshed  at  The 
Hague  (The  Hague  Tribunal),  before  which  disputes  might  be 
brought  by  nations  if  they  desired  to  do  so.  But  there  was  no 
way  by  which  a  nation  could  be  compelled  to  appeal  to  the 
court. 


A  WORLD    COMMUNITY 


93 


Nations  have  a  strong  sense  of  their  nationality,  and  are 
extremely  jealous  of  their  sovereignty,  which  is  the  supreme 
power  claimed  by  every  nation  to  form  its  own   ^^^^j^j^^jj^ 
government  and  to  manage  its  own  affairs  with-   and 
out  interference  by  other  nations.     It  is  this  that  sovereignty 


International  Industrial  Conference,  iqig 
This  Conference  was  held  at  Washington,  D.  C,  having  been  called  together  by 
the  United  States  Government  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  treaty  of  peace 
with  Germany.     It  was  attended  by  delegates  from  forty  nations. 

has  prevented  the  development  of  anything  Hke  a  real  inter- 
national government  that  could  control  the  conduct  of  national 
governments,  or  that  could  require  a  nation  to  submit  its 
grievances  to  any  judge  other  than  itself.  This  has  perhaps 
been  the  chief  weakness  of  the  world  community. 

Many   people   have   long   believed   that   the   self-governing 
nations  of  the  world  must  sooner  or  later  unite,  in  the  interest 


94  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

of  world  peace,  in  some  kind  of  federation  or  league,  with  a  cen- 
tral organization  to  which  all  would  agree  to  submit  their  differ- 
A  League  ences.     The  war  made  it  seem  even  more  necessary, 

of  Nations  Accordingly  the  Peace  Conference  at  Versailles  at 
the  close  of  the  war  included  in  the  treaty  of  peace  a  Covenant 
(or  constitution)  for  a  League  of  Nations.  The  treaty,  includ- 
ing the  Covenant,  has  been  ratified  (March,  1920)  by  four  of 
the  five  great  nations  associated  against  Germany  (France, 
England,  Italy,  and  Japan ;  the  United  States  being  the  excep- 
tion), besides  several  other  nations.  While  the  President  of 
the  United  States  strongly  advocated  the  treaty  with  the  Cove- 
nant, the  Senate  did  not  approve  of  its  ratification.  Those  in 
our  country  who  opposed  the  Covenant  did  so  for  a  variety 
of  reasons,  but  chief  among  them  were :  first,  the  fear  that  the 
Covenant  would  cause  us  to  depart  from  the  principles  laid 
down  by  Washington  and  Monroe  (see  p.  87) ;  and,  second, 
the  fear  that  the  powers  conferred  upon  the  international 
government  would  deprive  our  national  government  of  some 
of  its  sovereign  powers.  The  friends  of  the  Covenant  denied 
that  either  of  these  things  would  be  true. 

Whether  or  not  the  United  States  should  enter  the  League  ^ 
we  shall  have  to  leave  for  the  statesmen  to  decide ;  and  whether 
or  not  the  League  will  accomplish  the  desired  ends,  time  alone 
can  prove.  But  two  or  three  things  may  safely  be  said  with  re- 
gard to  any  really  effective  world  government. 

When  people  live  together  in  communities,  each  person  has 
to  sacrifice  something  of  his  personal  freedom  in  order  that  all 
M'  ht  d  es  ™^^  enjoy  the  largest  possible  liberty.  The  same  is 
not  make  true  of  families  in  a  neighborhood,  of  communities 

"^*^*  in  a  state,  of  the  states  in  our  nation.     There  is 

no  reason  why  it  should  not  be  true  of  nations  which  are  neigh- 
bors to  one  another.     No  nation  has  any  more  right  to  do  as  it 

'The  Council  of  the  new  League  of  Nations  held  its  first  meeting  January  i6, 
1920,  the  United  States,  of  course,  not  being  represented. 


A  WORLD   COMMUNITY 


95 


pleases  than  a  person  or  a  family  has,  if  what  it  pleases  to  do  is 
unjust  to  its  neighbors.  The  only  thing,  however,  that  a  nation 
can  properly  be  asked  to  give  up  is  being  unjust  to  its  neighbors. 
We  saw  in  Chapter  IV  that  government  and  law  increase  rather 
than  decrease  the  individual  citizen's  freedom,  and  that  it  is  only 
the  "ill-mannered  "  who  feel  the  restrictions  of  a  wise  government 


National  Headquarters  of  the  American  Red  Cross, 
Washington,  D.  C. 

(see  p.  47).  So,  when  we  finally  get  a  world  government  that  is 
good,  it  will  be  one  that  will  increase  the  freedom  of  all  "good- 
mannered  "  nations,  restrictingonly  those  that  are  "ill-mannered." 

Moreover,  when  we  finally  get  a  league  of  na-  ^j^^^ 
tions  that  will  really  secure  friendly  cooperation  "  America 
among  the  nations  for  their  common  interests,  it 
will  be  brought  about,  not  by  sacrificing  nationality  and  na- 
tional patriotism,  but  by  strengthening  them. 


96  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

What  is  required  is  not  less  loyalty  to  one's  nationality,  but  more  sjmipa- 
thetic  understanding  of  nationalities  and  national  ideals  different  from  one's 
own,  combined  with  a  recognition  of  the  fundamental  interests  .  .  .  which 
unite  them  to  each  other.^ 

The  only  way  to  be  sure  of  a  perfect  neighborhood  is  first  to  see 
to  it  that  the  homes  of  the  neighborhood  are  strong  and  whole- 
some. No  person  can  really  be  loyal  to  his  neighborhood  who  is 
not  first  of  all  loyal  to  his  home.  Thoroughly  efficient  town- 
ships and  counties  and  cities  are  essential  to  a  thoroughly  effi- 
cient state ;  and  no  citizen  is  loyal  to  his  state  who  is  not  loyal  to 
his  township,  county,  and  city.  The  strength  of  our  nation  de- 
pends upon  the  strength  of  the  states  that  compose  it,  and  real 
national  patriotism  cannot  well  exist  in  the  heart  of  a  citizen 
who  is  disloyal  to  his  state.  The  first  essential  step  toward  an 
effective  world  government  is  to  see  that  our  national  government 
is  efficient  and  at  the  same  time  just.  The  first  and  best  serv- 
ice that  a  citizen  can  perform  for  the  world  community  is  to  be 
loyal  to  American  ideals,  which  are  becoming  the  ideals  of  an 
ever-increasing  part  of  the  world's  population. 

The  new  type  of  patriot  no  longer  cries,  ^^  My  country  against 
the  world,'"  but  ^^  My  country  for  the  world."  ^ 

Topics  for  investigation : 

The  Hague  Tribunal.  Disputes  that  have  been  settled  by  it.  Why 
the  dispute  that  led  to  the  recent  war  was  not  settled  by  it. 

The  meaning  of  "nationality."     Of  "sovereignty." 

Has  a  government  any  more  right  to  be  dishonest  than  an  individual? 

Both  sides  of  the  argument  over  the  ratification  by  the  United  States  of 
the  treaty  of  peace  with  the  Covenant  for  the  League  of  Nations  (see  refer- 
ences). 

The  truth  of  the  statement  that  "the  only  way  to  be  sure  of  a  perfect 
neighborhood  is  first  to  see  to  it  that  the  homes  of  the  rieighborhood  are 
strong  and  wholesome." 

The  meaning  of  the  statement  in  the  quotation  at  the  end  of  the  text  above. 

1  "Thoughts  on  NationaHsm  and  Internationalism,"  in  History  Teachers'  Maga- 
zine, June,  1918,  p.  334. 

2  Stuart  P.  Sherman,  American  and  Allied  Ideals,  p.  14. 


A  WORLD   COMMUNITY  97 


READINGS 

In  Long's  American  Patriotic  Prose: 

Washington,  "Farewell  Address,"  pp.  105-124. 
Washington,  "Proclamation  of  Neutrality,"  pp.  143-146. 
"The  Monroe  Doctrine,"  pp.  148-149. 

John  Quincy  Adams,  "The  Mission  of  America,"  pp.  149-150. 
George  F.  Hoar,  "A  Warning  Against  the  Spirit  of  Empire,"  pp.  244-247. 
Woodrow  Wilson,  "Spirit  of  America,"  pp.  266-268. 
Franklin  K.  Lane,  "Why  We  Are  Fighting  Germany,"  pp.  282-283. 
Carl  Schurz,  "The  Rule  of  Honor  for  the  Republic,"  pp.  342-343- 
Woodrow  Wilson,  "War  Message  of  April  2,  1917,"  pp.  351-361. 
In  Foerster  and  Pierson's  American  Ideals: 
Washington,  "Counsel  on  Alliances"  (Farewell  Address),  pp.  185-189. 
"The  Monroe  Doctrine,"  pp.  190-193. 

Henry  Clay,  "The  Emancipation  of  South  America,"  pp.  194-199. 
Robert  E.  Lansing,  "Pan-Americanism,"  pp.  200-296. 
A.  Lawrence  Lowell,  "A  League  to  Enforce  Peace,"  pp.  207-223. 
George  G.  Wilson,  "The  Monroe  Doctrine  and  the  League  to  Enforce  Peace," 

pp.  224-232. 
Woodrow  Wilson,  "The  Conditions  of  Peace,"  pp.  233-241. 
Woodrow  Wilson,  "War  for  Democracy  and  Peace,"  pp.  242-256. 
Various  books  and  pamphlets  have  been  written  relating  to  the  League  of  Nations 
and  world  relations  following  the  war.     Among  these  are : 

The  League  of  Nations,  edited  by  Henry  E.  Jackson  (published  by  Prentice-Hall, 
Inc.,  70  Fifth  Ave.,  N.  Y.  Paper,  50^;  cloth,  $1).  "A  document  prepared  to 
stimulate  community  discussion  and  promote  organized  public  opinion."  This 
book  contains,  at  the  end,  a  list  of  titles  of  books  and  pamphlets  on  the  subject. 
The  Lodge-Lowell  Debate  on  the  Covenant  of  the  League  of  Natiotis  (World  Peace 
Foundation,  Boston).  President  Lowell,  of  Harvard  University,  argued  for, 
and  Senator  Lodge  against,  the  Covenant  as  contained  in  the  treaty  of  peace. 
Taft,  William  Howard,  Why  a  League  of  Nations  is  Necessary  (League  to  Enforce 

Peace,  New  York). 
Sherman,  Stuart  P.,  American  and  Allied  Ideals  (World  Peace  Foundation,  Boston). 
The  complete  official  record  of  the  United  States  Senate  debate  on  the  treaty 
of  peace  is  to  be  found  in  the  Congressional  Record,  a  file  of  which  should  be  in  your 
public  library. 

The  Junior  Red  Cross  Nrd's,  American  Red  Cross,  Washington,  D.  C. 
For  the  work  of  the  Pan  American  Union  and  the  Red  Cross  consult  your  public 
library ;  and  write  to  the  Pan  American  Union  and  the  American  Red  Cross,  both  in 
Washington,  D.C.,  for  descriptive  publications. 

For  the  Hague  Conferences  and  the  Hague  Tribunal  consult  any  good  modem  en- 
cyclopedia, and  your  public  library.  Write  for  materials  to  the  American  School  Citi- 
zenship League,  405  Marlboro  St.,  Boston,  and  the  World  Peace  Foundation, 
Boston. 


CHAPTER  IX 


THE  HOME 


Old  Log  House  on  an  Ohio  Farm 


"iVo  nation  can  be  destroyed  while  it  possesses  a  good  home  life." 

The  home  is  the  smallest,  the  simplest,  and  the  most  familiar 
community  of  which  we  are  members.     In  many  respects  it  is 

also  the  most  important. 
The  quotation  with  which 
this  chapter  opens  sug- 
gests this.  It  will  appear  at 
many  points  in  our  study. 

What  do  you  think  that  the 
quotation  at  the  head  of  the 
chapter  means?  In  what  re- 
spects do  you  think  it  true? 

Some  cities  take  pride  in  the 
fact   that   they  are   "cities  of 
homes."     What  does  this  mean?     Why  is  it  a  cause  for  pride? 

Is  your  community  (neighborhood  or  town)  a  community  of  homes? 
What  is  a  "home"?     When  a  person  is  "homesick"  for  what  is  he 
"sick"? 

May  a  good  home  exist  in  a  poor  dwelling?  A  poor  home  in  a  fine 
dwelling  ? 

Is  a  hotel  a  home?     May  a  family  living  in  a  hotel  have  a  home  there? 
Is  an  orphan  asylum  a  home  ?     Would  you  exchange  life  in  your  own  home 
for  life  in  an  orphan  asylum?     Why?     There  are  children  who  think  an 
orphan  asylum  is  a  fine  place  to  live ;   why  is  this? 

The  home  is  important  (i)  because  of  what  it  does  for  its 
own  members,  and  (2)  because  of  what  it  does  for  the  larger 
community  of  which  it  is  a  part.  We  shall  consider  first  what 
it  does  for  its  own  members. 


THE  HOME 


99 


Under  the  conditions  of  pioneer  life  the  wants  of  the  members 
of  the  family  were  provided  for  almost  entirely  by  their  own 
united  efforts.  They  built  their  own  dwelhng  from  The  pioneer 
materials  which  they  themselves  procured  from  the  fan^iiy 
forest.  They  made  their  living  from  the  land  which  they  oc- 
cupied, with  tools  which  were  largely  homemade.  They  pro- 
vided their  own  defense  against  attack  from  without  and  against 
sickness  within.     Such  education  as  the  children  obtained  was 


A  Pioneer  Home  in  the  Arid  Lands  of  the  West 

of  the  most  practical  kind,  and  was  obtained  by  actual  experi- 
ence in  their  daily  work  supplemented  by  such  instruction  as 
parents  and  older  brothers  and  sisters  could  give.  There  was 
little  social  life  except  within  the  family  circle. 

When  other  homes  were  built  in  the  neighborhood  a  larger 
community    life    began.     The    neighboring    homes    came    to 
depend  upon  one  another  and  to  cooperate  in  ^q^^^  ^f 
many  ways.     The  store  at  the  crossroads  provided  community 
for  many  wants  that  each  home  had  formerly  pro-   ^° 
vided  for  itself.     The  doctor  who  came  to  live  in  the  community 


lOO 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


relieved  the  home  of  much  anxiety  in  case  of  sickness.  The 
education  of  the  children  was  in  part,  at  least,  turned  over  to 
the  community  school.  And  so,  as  a  community  grows,  the 
home  shifts  much  of  the  responsibility  for  providing  for  the 
wants  of  its  members  upon  community  agencies. 


A  Community  of  Homes  in  Reclaimed  Desert  Land 

"The  underlying  purpose  of  Government  reclamation  has  been  to  provide 
homes  on  the  land." 

This  shifting  of  responsibility  for  the  welfare  of  citizens 
from  the  home  to  the  larger  community  is  carried  furthest  in 
De  endence  cities.  Almost  everything  wanted  in  the  home 
of  the  may  be  bought  in  the  city  shops,  and  work  that 

city  home  -^  ^^^^  -^^  ^-^^  home  for  the  family,  such  as  repair 
work,  dressmaking,  laundry  work,  and  cooking,  is  likely  to 
be  done  by  people  brought  in  from  outside.  Water  is  piped 
in  from  a  public  water  supply  and  sewage  is  piped  out  through 
public  sewers.  Gas  and  electricity  for  lighting  and  heating 
are  furnished  by  city  plants.     Since  many  city  homes  have 


THE  HOME  lOI 

not  a  spot  of  ground  for  a  garden  or  for  outdoor  play,  they 
depend  upon  public  parks  and  playgrounds  provided  by  the  city. 
These  are  among  the  many  so-called  advantages  of  city  Kfe. 

When  so  much  is  done  for  the  citizen  by  the  larger  com- 
munity agencies,  there  is  danger  that  the  family  may  forget 
its  own  responsibility  for  the  welfare  of  its  mem-  -j-j^^  obliga- 
bers  in  connection  with  every  want  of  hfe.     For  tion  of  the 
no  matter  how  good  the  community's  arrange-     °™® 
ments  for  health  protection  may  be,  the  health  of  every  citizen 


The  Business  of  Farming  Is  Carried  on  at  Home 
In  this  case,  apparently,  a  well-managed  business. 

depends  more  upon  the  home  than  upon  any  other  agency  (see 
Chapter  XX).  No  matter  how  good  the  schools,  the  home 
always  has  great  responsibility  for  the  education  of  the  chil- 
dren, both  within  the  home  itself  and  through  cooperation 
with  the  schools  (Chapter  XIX).  No  matter  how  many 
social  organizations  and  places  of  amusement  the  community 
may  afford,  the  social  and  recreational  life  of  the  home  is  the  most 
important  of  all  and  the  most  far-reaching  in  its  influence 


I02  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

(Chapter  XXI).  No  matter  how  excellent  the  form  of  govern- 
ment in  a  community  may  be,  its  results  will  be  very  imperfect 
unless  the  government  in  each  home  is  good. 

The  home  has  especial  importance  in  the  rural  community 
of  to-day.     The  rural  home  is  no  longer  so  isolated  and  self- 
dependent  as  the  pioneer  home,  but  the  life  of  the 
Importance  ....  ,  „ 

of  the  home      rural  Citizen  is  much  more  dependent  upon  efforts 

in  rural  within  the  home  itself  than  the  life  of  the  city  resi- 

communities  .  .  1.11 

dent.  Ihe  business  01  farming  by  which  the 
family  living  is  secured  is  carried  on  at  home,  and,  as  a  rule, 
all  the  members  of  the  family  have  some  part  in  it.  It  is  a 
cooperative  family  enterprise  to  a  much  greater  extent  than  any 
other  modern  business. 

In  cities,  in  the  great  majority  of  cases,  the  work  by  which  the  family 
living  is  earned  is  done  away  from  home,  and  very  often  no  member  of  the 
family  except  the  father  has  any  direct  part  in  it.  There  are  numerous 
cases,  however,  where  the  mother  and  even  the  children  go  out  to  work,  and 
in  such  cases  the  home  life  may  be  seriously  interfered  with. 

It  would  be  hard  to  find  a  rural  home  in  the  United  States 
to-day  that  is  not  near  enough  to  a  schoolhouse  to  enable  the 
children  to  attend  it,  at  least  for  an  elementary  education. 
Unfortunately  high  schools  are  not  yet  easily  accessible  in  all 
rural  communities  (see  Chapter  XIX).  But  whether  the  edu- 
cation afforded  by  the  rural  school  is  of  the  best  or  not,  the  boy 
or  girl  on  the  farm  gets  in  addition  a  kind  of  education  through 
the  varied  occupations  of  the  farm  life  that  the  city  boy  or  girl 
does  not  get,  and  for  which  the  city  schools  have  tried  in  vain 
to  find  an  adequate  substitute.  It  is  remarkable  how  many  of 
the  successful  men  and  women  of  our  country  were  raised  on 
farms ;  and  they  almost  always  bear  witness  to  the  value  of 
the  training  received  there. 

So  in  matters  of  health,  of  social  life  and  recreation,  of  pleas- 
ant and  beautiful  surroundings,  the  rural  home  must  depend 
very  largely  upon  itself.     The  strength  and  happiness  of  the 


THE  HOME 


Old  Farmhouse  Modernized. 


A  Convenient  Kitchen. 


Labor-Saving  Devices  in  the  Home. 

'Transmuting  Days  of  Dreary  Work  into  Happier  Lives"  in  the 

Home 


I04  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

community,  of  our  nation  itself,  depend  largely  upon  the  extent 
to  which  the  homes  perform  their  proper  work  in  providing  for 
the  wants  of  their  members. 

Review  what  was  said  in  Chapter  II  regarding  the  independence  of  the 
pioneer  family. 

Review  also  what  was  said  in  Chapter  I  regarding  the  growing  depend- 
ence of  the  family  upon  the  community. 

Gather  stories  regarding  pioneer  home  life  (a)  in  your  own  locality ; 
(b)  in  the  settlement  of  the  West;  (c)  in  colonial  times.  Illustrate  from 
these  stories  how  the  home  provided  for  the  wants  of  its  members. 

Show  in  detail  how  the  various  members  of  a  farmer's  family  take  part 
in  the  business  of  farming.  Compare  with  a  family  in  town  whose  living  is 
provided  for  by  some  other  business. 

Make  a  list  of  the  different  people  who  come  to  the  home  of  a  family 
in  town  to  provide  for  its  wants  (such  as  the  grocer's  boy,  the  milkman,  the 
postman,  etc.).  Compare  with  a  farmer's  home  with  respect  to  this  service 
from  outside. 

We  have  read  in  an  earUer  chapter  (p.  9)  that  "our  national 
purpose  is  to  transmute  days  of  dreary  work  into  happier 
Labor  saving  lives  —  for  ourselves  first  and  for  all  others  in 
in  the  home  their  time."  This  purpose  cannot  be  fully  achieved 
if  it  is  not  first  of  all  achieved  in  the  home.  One  of  the  objec- 
tions often  raised  to  life  on  the  farm  is  that  it  is  a  life  of  drudgery, 
of  few  conveniences  and  comforts,  of  long  hours,  hard  work, 
and  little  recreation.  Happily  this  is  not  so  true  as  it  once 
was.  Labor-saving  machinery,  better  methods  of  transporta- 
tion and  communication,  better  schools,  have  done  much  to 
improve  conditions  of  rural  home  life.  But  occasionally  there 
still  come  statements  like  the  following  from  some  of  the  women 
in  farm  homes : 

In  many  homes  life  on  the  farm  is  a  somewhat  one-sided  affair.  Many 
times  the  spare  money  above  living  expenses  is  expended  on  costly  machinery 
and  farm  implements  to  make  the  farmer's  work  lighter;  on  more  land 
where  there  is  already  a  sufficiency  ;  on  expensive  horses  and  cattle  and  new 
out-buildings ;  while  little  or  nothing  is  done  for  home  improvement  and  no 
provision  made  for  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  the  women  of  the  family. 


THE  HOME 


105 


If  a  silo  will  help  to  reduce  the  man's  labor,  a  vacuum  cleaner  will  do 
likewise  for  his  wife.  If  the  stock  at  the  barn  needs  a  good  water  system 
to  help  it  grow,  the  stock  in  the  house  needs  it  too,  and  needs  it  warm  for 
baths. 

You  see  many  a  farm  where  there  is  a  cement  floor  in  the  barn,  while  the 
cellar  in  the  house  is  awful.  A  sheep  dip,  but  no  bathtub;  a  fme  buggy 
and  a  poor  baby  carriage.  On  many  farms  a  hundred  dollars  in  cash  are 
not  spent  in  the  home  in  a  year. 


A  Household  Industry  in  the  City 
Picking  out  nuts  for  confectionery  in  a  city  tenement  house. 


These  are  not  meant  as  complaints  about  the  purchase  of 
labor-saving    farm    machinery.     Such    complaints    would    be 
short-sighted,  for  it  is  only  by  improved  methods   ^      j 
of  farming  that  the  means  and  the  leisure  can  be  opportunities 
found  to  enrich  the  home  life  in  every  way.     But  ^°     ®    °^ 
the   advantages   gained   by   improvements   that   increase   the 
farmer's  returns  are  largely  lost  if  they  do  not  at  the  same  time 
bring  "  happier  lives  "  to  the  family  as  a  whole.     The  farm  home 
is  not  only  the  place  where  the  family  Uving  is  earned;  it  is 


I06  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

also  the  place  where  the  family  life  is  lived.  Democracy  aims 
at  equal  opportunity  to  enjoy  "life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit 
of  happiness";  "days  of  dreary  work"  must  be  transmuted 
into  "  happier  lives  "  for  the  women  and  children  as  well  as  for 
the  men.  Unless  this  is  done  in  the  home  there  is  Httle  chance 
of  its  being  done  at  all. 

A  story  is  told  of  a  housekeeper  in  a  farm-home  in  the  West  who 

saw  in  the  sacred  rite  of  old-school  housekeepers  something  more  than  scrub- 
bing and  polishing.  .  .  .  When  her  housecleaning  was  over  she  knew 
just  what  linen  she  would  need  during  the  coming  year,  just  how  much 
fruit  and  vegetables  she  would  need  to  can  or  preserve  or  dry,  just  what 
clothing  must  be  replaced  or  repaired,  and  what  dishes  would  be  needed 
to  keep  her  set  complete.  She  not  only  made  changes  to  improve  the 
appearance  of  her  house,  but  planned  and  made  the  changes  in  her  work- 
shop which  would  save  steps  and  make  her  wor*k  as  easy  as  possible.  When 
her  mind  got  to  work,  housekeeping  became  a  game,  the  object  being  to 
eliminate  all  unnecessary  labor.  Her  benches  and  tables  and  sinks  were 
raised  to  the  proper  height  and  she  became  ashamed  of  the  back-breaking 
energy  she  had  wasted  bending  over  them.  A  high  stool,  made  by  removing 
the  back  and  arms  from  the  baby's  outgrown  high  chair,  made  dishwashing 
and  ironing  much  easier.  She  has  been  housekeeping  intelligently  a  dozen 
years,  yet  each  house-cleaning  or  stock-taking  period  she  installs  some  new 
labor  saver. 

She  not  only  makes  her  head  save  her  heels,  but  she  takes  another  kind 
of  inventory  which  is  as  well  worth  while.  It  is  the  inventory  which  we 
all  need  to  take  of  ourselves  to  be  sure  that  we  are  making  the  best  of  our 
opportunities  instead  of  drifting  along  day  by  day  in  a  rut.  She  searches 
out  the  hidden  places  in  her  soul  to  see  if  she  is  just  as  patient,  as  thoughtful, 
as  cheerful  as  she  might  be.  ...  ^ 

In  some  rural  communities  the  home  has  been  relieved  of 

much  of  the  household  drudgery  by  the  development  of  coopera- 

.^       tive  creameries,  cooperative  laundries,  and  other 
Community  '  ^ 

cooperation  community  institutions  to  do  work  that  was  for- 
and  the  home  j^g^jy  ^Jq^c  entirely  in  the  home.  In  such  coopera- 
tive enterprises  citizens  of  the  community  buy  shares  of  stock  as 

1  Reclamation  Record,  Feb.,  1918,  p.  55,  "Project  Women  and  Their  Materials," 
by  Mrs.  Louella  Littlepage. 


THE  HOME  107 

in  the  case  of  the  fruit  growers'  association  (p.  26).  In  one 
community  in  Michigan  "a  vote  was  taken,  the  women  voting  as 
well  as  the  men,  to  determine  the  sentiment  of  the  community 
on  the  establishment  of  such  a  laundry,  and  the  vote  was  so 
overwhelmingly  in  favor  of  the  proposition  that  the  Farmers' 
Club  promptly  called  a  meeting  to  promote  the  enterprise." 
An  addition  was  built  to  the  cooperative  creamery,  which  the 
community  already  possessed,  so  that  the  same  steam  plant 
could  be  used  for  both.  The  farmers  brought  their  laundry 
when  they  brought  their  cream,  and  carried  it  back  on  the  next 
trip.  "The  laundry  has  been  successful  in  reheving  the  hard 
life  of  a  farmer's  wife,  and  in  addition  has  been  not  only  self- 
sustaining  but  a  profitable  institution."  One  of  the  women  of 
the  community  says, 

It  has  lightened  the  work  in  the  home  to  such  an  extent  that  one  can 
manage  the  work  without  keeping  help,  which  is  very  scarce  and  high 
priced,  when  it  would  be  impossible  to  do  so  if  the  washing  was  included 
with  our  other  duties. 

And  another  writes, 

This  change  gives  me  two  days  of  recreation  that  I  can  call  my  own 
every  week  and  also  gives  me  more  time  in  which  to  accomplish  the  house- 
hold duties.^ 

A  great  deal  of  help  is  now  being  given  to  the  home  by  the 
government,  and  this  is  especially  true  in  the  case  of  the  rural 
home.     The    public    schools,    both    in    city    and   Government 
country,  now  consider  home  making  and  "home   serves  the 
economics"  as  worthy  of  a  place  in  the  course  of 
study   as   geography   and   mathematics   (see    Chapter   XEX). 
State  agricultural  colleges  are  beginning  to  give  as  much  atten- 
tion to  these  subjects  as  they  do  to  soils  and  fertilizers  and 
stock-breeding.     Moreover,    the    colleges    conduct    "extension 
courses,"  sending  teachers  trained  in  the  art  of  home  making 

1  "A  Successful  Rural  Cooperative  Laundry,"  in  the  Year  Book,  Department  of 
Agriculture,  1915,  pp.  189^194. 


I08  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

to  give  instruction  to  women  and  girls  in  every  part  of  the 

state.     They  assist  in  organizing  clubs  of  girls  and  women  to 

study  various  aspects  of  home  making  and  housekeeping,  and 

give  demonstrations  of  the  most  successful  methods  of  cooking, 

of  canning,  and  of  other  activities  connected  with  home  life  on 

the  farm,  as  well  as  of  labor-saving  devices  in  the  household. 

The  state  agricultural  colleges  have   the  cooperation  of  the 

Department  of  Agriculture  of  the  national  government  in  all 

this  work. 

In   the    Year  Book   of   the  Department  of  Agriculture  for 

191 6  there  is  an  account  of  results  derived  from  home  demon- 

„,^  ,  stration  work  in  the  Southern  States.     The  follow- 

What  one 

girl  ing  story  of  what  Ruth  Anderson  accomplished  is 

accompUshed    ^  ^^^^  illustration  of  the  possibilities  of  this  work 

Ruth  Anderson,  of  Etowah  County,  Alabama,  in  her  second  year  of  club 
work,  had  an  excellent  plat  of  one  tenth  of  an  acre  of  beans  and  tomatoes.  She 
is  the  second  girl  in  a  family  of  eleven,  and  takes  a  great  interest  in  her  club 
work.  The  family  home  was  small,  dark,  and  crowded,  and  somewhat 
unattractive.  One  day  a  carpenter  friend  of  her  father  saw  her  one  tenth 
of  an  acre  and  said  he  wished  he  had  time  to  plant  a  garden.  She  told  him 
she  would  furnish  vegetables  in  exchange  for  some  of  his  time.  .  .  .  After 
a  while  a  bargain  was  made  by  which  the  carpenter  agreed  to  begin  work  on 
the  remodeling  of  the  house  if  Ruth  would  furnish  him  with  fresh  and  canned 
vegetables  for  the  season. 

The  other  members  of  the  family  were  soon  interested  in  this  undertaking 
and  worked  willingly  to  contribute  their  share  to  its  success.  When  the 
house  was  partly  finished  Ruth  won  a  canning-club  prize  given  by  a  hard- 
ware merchant  in  Gadsden,  the  county  seat.  Silverware  was  offered  her, 
but,  intent  upon  completing  the  new  house  she  asked  the  merchant  how 
much  a  front  door  of  glass  would  cost,  and  learned  that  she  could  get  the 
door,  side  lights,  and  windows  for  the  price  of  the  silverware.  In  this 
way  Ruth  brought  light  and  joy  to  her  family  with  her  windows  and  door. 
To-day  they  live  in  a  pretty  bungalow  that  she  helped  to  build  with  her 
gardening  and  canning  work.  At  the  age  of  14,  in  the  second  year  of  her 
work,  Ruth  put  up  700  cans  of  tomatoes  and  750  cans  of  beans.  ^ 

1  "Effect  of  Home  Demonstration  Work  in  the  South,"  in  1916  Year  Book 
of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  p.  254. 


THE  HOME 


109 


Ruth's  Home  Before  and  After  She  Began  Her  Work 
For  a  third  view  of  Ruth's  home  see  Chapter  XXI,  page  341. 


no  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

Ruth's  home  before  and  after  she  began  her  work  is  shown 
in  the  accompanying  illustrations. 

The  national  government  helps  in  home  making  in  other 
ways  than  those  suggested  above,  and  through  other  depart- 
Nationai  aid  ments  than  that  of  agriculture.  In  the  Depart- 
to  the  home  j^ent  of  the  Interior  the  General  Land  Office,  the 
Bureau  of  Education,  the  Reclamation  Service,  the  Office  of 
Indian  Affairs  are  ajl  doing  work  to  improve  the  homes  of  the 
land.  So,  also,  is  the  Public  Health  Service  of  the  Treasury 
Department;  the  Bureau  of  Standards  in  the  Department  of 
Commerce ;  the  Children's  Bureau  in  the  Department  of 
Labor.  We  shall  encounter  some  of  this  work  as  we  proceed 
with  our  study. 

In  what  ways  has  household  work  been  relieved  of  its  drudgery  since 
your  mothers  were  girls? 

What  labor-saving  devices  have  been  introduced  in  your  home? 

Make  a  report  on  labor-saving  inventions  for  the  household  (see  references 
at  end  of  chapter). 

What  are  some  labor-saving  household  devices  that  could  be  made  by 
boys  and  girls  (such  as  fireless  cookers,  iceless  refrigerators,  etc.)  ?  (See  refer- 
ences below.)  Can  your  school  help  in  such  projects?  To  what  extent 
could  (or  do)  boys'  and  girls'  clubs  undertake  such  projects?  Is  there  any 
leader  in  your  community  who  could  direct  or  advise  in  such  projects? 

Is  the  kitchen  in  your  home  properly  arranged  to  save  steps,  labor,  and 
time  in  doing  kitchen  work?  Consider  plans  for  improvement.  Consult 
parents. 

Does  e.xperience  in  your  community  confirm  the  feeling  of  the  women 
quoted  on  page  104? 

Are  there  any  cooperative  enterprises  in  your  community  that  relieve  the 
housekeeper  of  household  labor,  such  as  cooperative  laundries,  creameries, 
etc.?  Are  they  a  business  success?  Have  they  improved  conditions  of 
home  life? 

What  is  the  difference  between  a  "cooperative"  laundry  and  an  ordinary 
laundry  such  as  may  be  found  in  most  towns?  Does  one  relieve  the  home 
more  than  the  other? 

What  other  business  enterprises  are  carried  on  in  towns  that  relieve 
the  home  of  work  ?  Why  are  such  business  enterprises  not  conducted  in  the 
same  way  in  rural  communities? 


THE   HOME  III 

Is  there  any  special  interest  in  home  improvement  in  your  community? 
Who  or  what  has  brought  it  about?  What  can  you  do  to  encourage  such 
interest  ? 

READINGS 

Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life:  Series  C,  Lesson  20,  "The  Family 
and  Social  Control." 

For  an  extensive  list  of  titles  of  publications  relating  to  the  home,  send  to  the 
United  States  Bureau  of  Education  for  its  Bulletin,  1919,  No.  46,  "Bibliography  of 
Home  Economics,"  especially  section  VIII  on  "The  Family,"  and  section  X  on 
"The  House  and  Household  Activities."     Among  the  many  titles  given  in  this  are : 

Earle,  AUce  Morse,  Hotne  Life  in  Colonial  Days  (Macmillan). 

Gillette,  J.  M.,  The  Family  and  Society  (A.  C.  McClurg). 

Thwing  and  Butler,  The  Family  (Lothrop,  Lee  and  Shepard  Co.). 

Gilman,  Charlotte  P.,  The  Home  (Doubleday,  Page  and  Co.). 

Talbot   and   Breckenridge,    The   Modern   Household    (Whitcomb   and   Barrows, 
Boston). 

Addams,  Jane,  The  Spirit  of  Youth  and  the  City  Streets  (Macmillan). 

Ellwood,  Charles  A.,  Sociology  and  Modern  Social  Problems,  chapters  on  the  family 
(American  Book  Co.). 

Scott,  Rhea,  Home  Labor-Saving  Devices  (Lippincott). 

Foght,  H.  W.,  The  Rural  Teacher  and  his  Work,  Part  I,  chap.  iii. 

U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  Office  of  the  Secretary,  Reports  103,  104,  105, 
106: 

"Social  and  Labor  Needs  of  Farm  Women." 

"Domestic  Needs  of  Farm  Women." 

"Educational  Needs  of  Farm  Women." 

"Economic  Needs  of  Farm  Women." 

These  reports  can  be  obtained  only  from  the  Superintendent  of  Documents, 
Government  Printing  OflBce,  15^  each. 

"The  .\merican  Farm  Woman  as  She  Sees  Herself,"  U.  S.  Department  of  Agri- 
culture Year  Book,  1914,  pp.  311-318. 

"Selection  of  Household  Equipment,"  Department  of  Agriculture  Year  Book 
1914,  pp.  339-362. 

Dunn,  Arthur  W.,  The  Community  and  the  Citizen,  chaps,  v,  vi. 


CHAPTER  X 
WHY   GOVERNMENT   HELPS   IN   HOME   MAKING 

Our  nation  requires  healthy  citizens,  inteUigent  citizens, 
prosperous  and  happy  citizens.  The  home  can  do  more  to 
produce  them  than  any  other  community  agency.  Therefore 
the  nation  is  wise  to  look  after  its  homes. 

People  cannot  do  their  work  well  if  they  live  in  unwholesome 
or  unpleasant  homes.  This  was  made  clear  during  the  recent 
war.  The  lack  of  suitable  living  places  for  work- 
of  home  ^len  and  their  families  was  one  of  the  chief  obstacles 

conditions  ^q  shipbuilding  and  munitions  manufacture  during 
the  early  part  of  the  war.  England  found  this  out 
as  well  as  the  United  States,  and  one  of  the  first  things  both 
countries  had  to  do  was  to  take  measures  to  provide  proper 
home  conditions  for  those  who  were  engaged  in  supplying  the 
nation's  needs.  During  the  first  year  of  the  war  our  Congress 
appropriated  $200,000,000  to  build  houses  for  industrial  workers. 

The  problem  of  securing  good  physical  conditions  of  home 
life  has  naturally  been  greatest  in  crowded  industrial  centers, 
but  it  is  by  no  means  absent  in  small  communities,  or  even  in 
the  open  country.     One  writer  describes 

a  certain  farmhouse  where  five  people  were  accustomed  to  sleep  in  one 
not  very  large  bedroom,  which  had  only  one  small  window,  and  even  that 
was  nailed  shut ;  one  of  these  five  had  incipient  tuberculosis.  These  people 
were  well-to-do  farmers,  living  in  a  large  twelve-room,  stone  house  and 
simply  crowded  into  one  room  for  the  sake  of  mistaken  economy  —  presum- 
ably to  save  coal  and  wood. 

Many  such  cases  could  be  described,  not  only  in  the  more 
remote  and  backward  regions,  but  even  in  prosperous  farming 
communities. 


WHY  GOVERNMENT  HELPS  IN  HOME   MAKING       II3 

What  is  the  result  of  this  overcrowding  and  lack  of  proper  housing  in  the 
country  ?  Just  exactly  the  same  as  in  the  great  cities  —  lack  of  efficiency, 
disease,  and  premature  death  to  many.  .  .  .  While  the  great  majority 
of  people  subjected  to  overcrowding  and  bad  housing  conditions  do  not 
prematurely  die,  yet  they  have  a  lessened  physical  and  mental  vigor,  are 
less  able  to  do  properly  their  daily  work,  and  not  only  become  a  loss  to 
themselves  and  their  families,  but  to  the  state.  .  .  .^ 

Some  of  our  states  and  many  of  our  cities  have  laws  to  regu- 
late housing  conditions,  but  such  laws  seldom  apply  to  small 

communities.     In  cities  where  people  live  crowded 

Strength  of 
together  in  closely  built  city  blocks,  unsanitary  the  nation 

conditions  in  one  home  endanger  the  health  of  the   depends  on 

the  home 
entire  community.     There  is  also  danger  from  fire, 

and  vice  and  crime  may  breed  and  spread  quickly  and  unseen. 

The  community  is  driven,   therefore,  in  its  own  defense,  to 

regulate    the   people's   housing.     In   small    communities,    and 

especially  in  rural  communities,  where  homes  are  more  widely 

separated  and  in  some  cases  quite  isolated,  it  has  seemed  of 

httle  concern  to  others  how  one  citizen  builds  his  home  and  what 

he  does  in  it.     Thoughtful  consideration  of  such  cases  as  that 

described  above,  however,  must  convince  us  that  it  is  a  matter 

of   national   concern   what   happens   even   in   remote   homes. 

Both  the  physical  and  the  economic  strength  of  the  nation  are 

undermined  by  unwholesome  conditions  in  the  separate  homes 

of  the  land. 

Economic  loss   to   the   community  may  result  not  merely 

from  unwholesome  home  conditions,  but  also  from  inconvenience 

of  location  and  arrangement  of  the  homes.     A  good  Community 

deal  of  attention  is  being  given  to  "community  planning 

planning"  in  the  United  States  and  especially  in  England  and 

other  European  countries.     Community  planning  includes  not 

only  provision   for   the  proper   location   and   construction   of 

>  Bashore,  "Overcrowding  and  defective  housing  in  the  rural  districts,"  quoted 
in  Nourse,  Agricultural  Economics,  pp.  118,  119,  121. 


114  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

public  buildings  and  streets,  for  water  supply,  lights,  parks, 
etc.,  but  also  for  the  convenient,  as  well  as  wholesome  and 
pleasant,  location  of  homes.  Large  cities,  like  London,  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  and  Chicago,  have  spent  enormous  sums 
of  money  in  city  planning  after  they  have  already  grown  up 
without  plan.  It  has  necessitated  destroying  old  structures 
and  widening  streets.  Villages  and  small  towns  are  in  a  posi- 
ti9n  to  introduce  a  plan  for  future  growth  without  this  needless 
expense.  Our  beautiful  capital  city  of  Washington  has  grown 
according  to  a  plan  that  was  carefully  laid  out  before  a  building 
was  erected.  But  even  in  Washington  one  of  the  greatest  prob- 
lems the  city  had  to  face  during  the  war  was  that  of  providing 
homes  for  the  enormous  number  of  workers  who  came  to  the 
city  to  do  the  work  of  the  government. 

"The  need  of  careful  arrangement  in  country  homes  is 
much  more  urgent  than  in  city  homes  for  the  reason  that 
Planning  the  country  people  use  their  homes  as  the  business 
farmstead  center  of  their  profession,"  says  Prof.  R.  J.  Pearce, 
of  Iowa  State  College.  "The  farmer  in  his  business  center 
must  not  only  produce  enough  raw  material  to  provide  for  him- 
self and  family,  but  he  must  needs  produce  enough  to  feed  and 
clothe  the  entire  human  race."  ^^Conservation  of  space  must  be 
taken  into  consideration  to  obtain  the  greatest  results  from 
our  high-priced  land ;  convenience  must  be  a  prime  factor  when 
expensive  labor  is  at  a  premium ;  and  attractiveness  must  be 
one  of  the  chief  motives  not  only  to  make  farm  property  more 
saleable  but  to  give  greater  enjoyment  to  the  owner  and  his 
family.  .  .  ."  "A  farmstead  is  but  a  unit  in  a  farming  com- 
munity, yet  travelers  form  an  impression  of  the  entire  com- 
munity by  individual  farm  homes  which  they  see  in  passing. 
Therefore,  not  only  financial  consideration  but  personal  pride 
and  a  feeling  of  community  spirit  and  enterprise  should  urge 
the  farm  owner  to  develop  his  farmstead  according  to  the  best 
of  modern  methods." 


WHY   GOVERNMENT  HELPS  IN  HOME  MAKING       I15 

What  facts  can  you  find  in  regard  to  what  the  government  did  to  provide 
homes  for  workers  in  shipbuilding  or  munitions  plants  during  the  war? 

In  many  of  the  war  industries  preference  was  given  to  men  with  families 
in  employing  workmen.     Why  was  this? 


S^^^^ 
M 

^3^ 

^l^lymSI^^^^^^^^^B^M 

F-^-t^ 

- 

'^^'^-'jjj^^^^^^^^M 

1 

An  Abandoned  Farm  in  New  York  State 


The  Same  Farm  Reclaimed  by  Modern  Methods  of  Farming 

In  some  rural  communities  in  the  United  States  a  "teacherage"  (home  for 
the  teacher)  is  provided.     Of  what  advantage  to  the  community  is  this? 
Is  there  a  "housing  problem"  in  your  community? 
Are  there  any  laws  in  your  state  regulating  the  building  of  homes  ?     If  so. 


ii6 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


what  are  some  of  them?     Do  they  apply  in  your  community?     Are  they 
carefully  observed  and  enforced  ? 

Make  a  study  of  the  arrangement  of  the  buildings  on  farms  with  which  you 
are  familiar,  drawing  diagrams,  and  report  whether  or  not  they  are  well 
planned  with  reference  to  economy  of  space  occupied,  convenience,  and 
attractiveness.     Consider 

(a)  Are  they  properly  placed  with  reference  to  the  highway? 

(b)  Are  they  conveniently  placed  in  relation  to  one  another? 

(c)  Are  they  suitably  protected  from  the  prevailing  winds?     How? 

(d)  What  makes  them  attractive  or  unattractive? 

(e)  Are  the  stables  properly  situated  to  protect  the  health  of  the  family? 
How? 

Must  a  home  be  large  and  costly  to  be  attractive? 

What  impression  would  a  stranger  get  in  regard  to  the  "community 
spirit"  of  your  community  from  the  appearance  of  its  homes?  Would  he 
be  right? 

Home  ownership  is  one  of  the  strongest  influences  that  give 

permanence    and    stabiHty    to    the    community.     The    census 

taken  by  the  United  States  government  every  ten 

community       years  shows  that 

stabUity  j^^^^    ownership 

has  been  decreasing  throughout 
the  country  as  a  whole.  The 
decrease  has  been  greatest  in 
cities,  but  it  is  true  also  of 
farm  home  ownership.  In 
1880  only  25%  of  the  farms 
of  the  United  States  were  oc- 
cupied by  tenants  (renters) ; 
in  1910,  37%  were  so  occu- 
pied. It  is  true  that  in  the  ten  years  from  1900  to  19 10 
there  was  a  slight  increase  in  the  proportion  of  farms  owned  by 
their  occupants  in  the  New  England  and  Middle  Atlantic  states, 
and  in  a  large  part  of  the  West ;  but  the  increase  in  these  parts 
was  more  than  overbalanced  by  the  decrease  in  the  South 
Atlantic  and  Gulf  states  and  in  the  Mississippi  Valley.    The 


An  Abandoned  Home 


WHY  GOVERNMENT  HELPS  IN  HOME  MAKING      117 

smallest  proportion  of  farm  tenancy  is  found  in  New  England 
(8%),  and  the  largest  in  the  southern  states  (45.9%  in  the 
South  Atlantic  states,  and  more  than  50%  in  the  South  central 
states).  A  large  part  of  the  farming  in  the  South  is  done  by 
negroes,  most  of  whom  are  either  laborers  on  the  farms  of  the 
white  population  or  tenants  on  small  farms  which  they  usually 
work  on  shares.  And  yet  the  number  of  negro  farm  owners  in 
the  South  has  been  rapidly  increasing  in  the  last  few  years, 
though  not  so  rapidly  as. the  number  of  tenants.  In  19 10 
negro  farm  owners  cultivated  nearly  16,000,000  acres  of  land 
in  the  South,  all  of  which  they  have  acquired  since  the  Civil 
War. 

The  decline  in  home  ownership  both  in  the  cities  and  in  the 
rural  districts  of  the  United  States  has  been  ob-   Effects  of 
served  with  considerable  anxiety  because  of  the  home 
effect  upon  our  national  welfare  and  upon   the  ownership 
citizenship  of  the  country.     One  writer  says : 

Farming  is  a  permanent  business ;  it  is  no  "  fly  by  night "  occupation. 
.  .  .  No  man  can  pull  up  stakes  and  leave  a  farm  at  the  close  of  the  year 
without  sacrificing  the  results  of  labor  which  he  has  done.  .  .  .  The  renter 
who  ends  harvest  knowing  that  he  will  move  in  the  spring,  will  not  do  as 
good  a  job  of  hauling  manure  and  fall  plowing  as  he  would  were  he  to  stay ; 
nor  does  he  take  as  good  care  of  the  buildings  and  other  improvements.  .  .  . 

The  cost  to  the  farming  business  of  the  country  each  year  for  this 
annual  farm  moving-week  mounts  into  the  millions  of  dollars.  And  the 
pity  of  it  all  is  that  practically  no  one  is  the  winner  thereby.  .  .  .  The 
renter  loses,  the  landlord  loses,  the  general  community  and  the  nation  at 
large  lose.^ 

Tenant  farming  also  places  obstacles  in  the  way  of  com- 
munity progress  in  other  ways. 

The  tenant  takes  little  interest  in  community  affairs.  The  questions 
of  schools,  churches,  or  roads  are  of  little  moment  to  him.     He  does  not 

1  W.  D.  Boyce,  in  an  editorial  in  The  Farming  Business,  February  26,  1916, 
quoted  in  Nourse,  Agricultural  Economics,  p.  651. 


Il8  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

wish  to  invest  in  enterprises  which  will  of  necessity  be  left  wholly  ...  to 
his  successor.     In  short,  he  is  in  the  community,  but  hardly  of  it.^ 

A  family  that  owns  its  home  feels  a  sense  of  proprietorship  in  a 
part  of  the  community  land.  The  money  value  of  a  home  in- 
creases in  proportion  to  the  prosperity  of  the  community  as  a 
whole ;  its  owner  will  therefore  be  inclined  to  do  all  he  can  to 
promote  the  welfare  of  the  community.  A  community  that  is 
made  up  largely  of  homes  owned  by  their  occupants  is  likely  to 
be  more  prosperous  and  more  progressive,  and  its  citizens  more 
loyal  to  it,  than  a  community  whose  families  are  tenants. 

Wliile  all  that  has  been  said  in  the  preceding  paragraph  is 
true,  it  must  not  be  thought  that  tenancy  is  necessarily  a  bad 
The  tenant  thing  in  all  cases,  nor  that  a  man  who  does  not  own 
as  a  citizen  j-^jg  home  cannot  be  a  thoroughly  good  citizen. 
There  are  circumstances  that  make  it  necessary  for  many 
families  to  live  in  dwellings  that  they  do  not  own.  Tenancy 
may  be  a  step  toward  home  ownership.  A  citizen  may  have 
insufficient  money  to  buy  a  farm,  but  enough  to  enable  him  to 
rent  one.  By  industry,  economy,  and  intelligence,  he  may  soon 
accumulate  means  with  which  to  buy  the  farm  he  occupies  or 
some  other.  The  increase  in  the  number  of  tenants  in  the 
Southern  States  (see  p.  ii6)  is  due  in  large  part  to  the 
breaking  up  of  many  larger  plantations  into  small  farms  which 
are  occupied  by  tenants,  many  of  them  negroes.  That  many 
of  these  tenants  are  on  the  road  to  home  ownership  is  indicated 
by  the  facts  stated  on  page  117. 

It  is  as  much  the  duty  of  the  home  renter  as  it  is  of  the  home 
owner  to  take  an  interest  in  the  community  life  in  which  he  and 
his  family  share,  and  to  cooperate  with  his  neighbors  for  the 
common  good.  While  he  lives  in  the  community  he  is  largely 
dependent  upon  it,  like  any  other  citizen,  for  the  satisfaction 
of  his  wants.     Its  markets  and  its  roads  are  his  for  the  trans- 

1  B.  H.  Hibbard, "  Farm  Tenancy  in  the  United  States,"  in  Annals  of  the  American 
Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science,  March,  1912,  p.  39. 


WHY   GOVERNMENT  HELPS   IN   HOME  MAKING       I19 

portation  and  disposal  of  his  produce  and  stock.     He  gets  the 
benefit  of  its  schools  for  the  education  of  his  children.     He  may 


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-  *.-^-,    ■=*  ,'  .'-.SUf  ,  S'-^Ss-.'.if^^ 

^''■-''^^"^■^ '_2. 

Which  Family  Takes  the  Greater  Interest  in  the  Community  ? 


share  in  its  social  life  if  he  cares  to  do  so.    His  property  is  pro- 
tected by  the  same  agencies  that  protect  that  of  his  neighbors. 


I20  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

He  cannot,  therefore,  escape  the  responsibility  of  contributing 

to  the  progress  of  his  community  to  the  extent  of  his  abiUty. 

It  is  as  much  the  duty  of  the  man  who  rents  a  farm  as  it  is 

of  the  man  who  owns  one  to  make  his  farm  produce  to  its  full 

capacity,  to  protect  the  soil  from  exhaustion  and 

between  the  buildings  and  fences  from  destruction.     But 

landlord  q^  the  Other  hand,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  landlord, 

and  tenant         ,      ,  ,  ,       .  i  i     •  • 

both  as  a  good  business  man  and  as  a  good  citizen, 

to  make  such  terms  with  his  tenant  that  the  latter  will  take  an 

interest  in  the  farm  and  will  find  it  profitable  to  farm  properly. 

There  must  be  team  work. 

The  landlord  must  be  interested  not  only  in  his  land  but  in  his  tenant. 
The  tenant  must  be  interested  not  only  in  himself  but  in  his  landlord  and  his 
land.  A  system  that  favors  the  tenant  to  the  injury  of  the  land  is  bad. 
A  system  that  favors  the  land  to  the  injury  of  the  tenant  is  equally  harmful. 
Either  system  wiU  result  in  the  poverty  of  both  the  landlord  and  the  tenant.^ 

The  fact  remains,  however,  that  home  ownership  contributes 
to  the  permanence,  the  stability,  and  the  progress  of  a  com- 
munity. It  is  also  a  fact  that  conditions  have  developed  in 
our  country,  both  in  cities  and  in  rural  communities,  which 
make  home  ownership  increasingly  difficult.  In  another  chapter 
(Chapter  XIV)  we  shall  see  what  some  of  these  conditions  are,  and 
what  our  government  has  done  and  may  do  to  overcome  them. 

One  of  the  most  important  services  performed  for  the  com- 
munity by  the  home  is  that  of  training  its  members  for  citizen- 
The  home  a  ^^^P*  '^^^  family  has  been  called  ''a  school  of  all 
school  of  the  virtues"  that  go  to  make  good  citizenship.     It 

citizens  p  jg  g^  school  in  which  not  only  the  children,  but  also 
the  parents,  not  only  the  boys  and  men,  but  also  the  girls  and 
women,  receive  training  by  practice.  In  the  home  are  de- 
veloped thoughtfulness  for  others,  a  spirit  of  self-sacrifice  for 
the  common  good,  loyalty  to  the  group  of  which  the  individual 

1  Dr.  Seaman  A.  Knapp,  quoted  by  Dr.  Thomas  Jesse  Jones  in  "Negroes  and 
the  Census  of  1910,"  p.  16.     (Reprint  from  The  Southern  Workman  for  August,  1912.) 


WHY   GOVERNMENT  HELPS  IN  HOME   MAKING       1 21 

is  a  member,  respect  for  the  opinions  of  others  of  long  experience, 
a  spirit  of  team  work,  obedience  to  rules  which  exist  for  the  wel- 
fare of  all.  If  these  and  other  quahties  of  good  citizenship 
are  not  cultivated  in  the  home,  it  is  not  in  a  healthy  condition 
nor  performing  its  proper  service  to  the  community. 

Moreover,  the  exercise  of  these  virtues  in  the  home  is  not 
only  training  for  good  citizenship ;  it  is  good  citizenship.  If  the 
home  is  as  important  a  factor  in  our  national  life  as  this  chapter 


Pleasant  Homes  for  Industrial  Workers 
Pressed  Steel  Car  Company,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

has  indicated,  then  one  of  the  greatest  opportunities  for  good 
citizenship,  and  one  of  the  greatest  duties  of  good  citizenship, 
is  that  of  making  the  home  what  it  should  be ;  and  in  this  each 
member  of  the  family  has  his  or  her  share. 

Make  a  study  of  farm  tenancy  in  your  locality  (neighborhood,  township, 
or  county). 

How  many  of  the  farms  of  the  locality  are  occupied  and  operated  by  their 
owners?  how  many  by  tenants?     What  is  the  percentage  of  tenancy? 

To  what  extent  are  the  tenants  men  who  were  formerly  farm  laborers, 
but  who  by  renting  farms  are  making  a  start  on  their  own  account  ?  Is  this 
a  sign  of  progress? 


122  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

What  percentage  of  the  tenants  are  white?  negro? 

To  what  extent  are  the  tenants  foreigners  who  have  recently  come  to  the 
locality  ? 

Are  the  tenant  farms  usually  rented  for  long  periods  or  for  short  periods  ? 

What  is  the  system  of  tenancy  in  your  locality  (i.e.  cash  rental,  working 
on  shares,  partnership  with  the  owner,  etc.)  ?  If  more  than  one  exists, 
which  seems  to  work  best?     Why? 

Is  tenancy  increasing  or  decreasing  in  your  locality?  What  reasons  are 
given  for  this? 

Does  experience  in  your  locality  support  the  statement  that  tenant  farmers 
are  less  likely  than  others  to  interest  themselves  in  community  progress? 

If  you  live,  or  go  to  school,  in  town,  make  a  study  of  home  ownership  in 
the  town.  (If  a  small  community,  the  class  may  study  the  entire  area ;  if 
large,  different  sections  may  be  studied  by  different  groups  of  pupils.)  How 
many  homes  are  occupied  by  their  owners?  how  many  by  tenants?  What 
is  the  percentage  of  tenancy?  Is  tenancy  increasing  or  decreasing?  For 
what  reasons? 

Is  there  some  section  of  the  community  where  most  of  the  people  own 
their  homes,  and  another  section  where  most  of  the  people  rent?  If  so,  do 
you  notice  any  difference  in  the  general  appearance  of  the  two  sections? 
Do  you  think  that  the  difference,  if  any  exists,  is  due  in  any  part  to  the  fact 
that  some  own  and  others  rent  their  homes? 

Is  there  a  tendency  for  the  farmers  of  your  locality  to  move  into  town? 
If  so,  why  ?     What  becomes  of  their  farms  ? 

Review  the  points  made  in  the  discussion  of  topics  4  and  5  on  page  38 
(Chapter  III).  Continue  to  develop  plans  for  cooperation  in  the  home  and 
school. 

What  does  it  mean  to  be  "in  training"  for  athletics?  In  the  light  of  your 
answer  to  this  question,  what  would  it  mean  to  be  "in  training"  for  citizen- 
ship? 

READINGS 

See  Readings  for  Chapter  IX.     Also : 

"Housing  the  Worker  on  the  Farm,"  Department  of  Agriculture  Year  Book, 
1918,  pp.  347-356. 

"What  the  Department  of  Agriculture  is  Doing  for  the  Housekeeper,"  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  Year  Book,  1913,  pp.  143-162. 

"The  Effect  of  Home  Demonstration  on  the  Community  and  the  County,"  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  Year  Book,  1916,  pp.  251-266. 

"Farm  Tenantry  in  the  United  States,"  Department  of  Agriculture  Year  Book, 
1916,  pp.  321-346. 

Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life:  Series  C,  Lesson  32,  "Housing  for 
Workers." 


CHAPTER  XI 

EARNING   A  LIVING 

The  most  conspicuous  activities  that  we  see  going  on  in  the 
community  are  usually  those  that  have  to  do  with  earning  a 
living  or  the  production  of  wealth.^     Indeed,  some  Lining,  not 
people  become  so  absorbed  in  the  business  of  earn-  earning,  the 

,.    .  1  ,  ,      1        7-   •         .  end  in  view 

mg  a  livmg  that  they  seem  to  be  hvmg  to  earn 

rather  than  earning  to  live.     It  does  not  do  to  forget  that  not 

earning,  but  living,  is  the  real  end  in  view.     Unless  we  know  how 

to  use  what  we  earn  to  provide  properly  for  all  of  our  normal 

wants,  the  effort  we  spend  in  earning  is  very  largely  wasted. 

Nevertheless,  before  we  can  enjoy  a  living  it  has  to  be  earned, 
by  ourselves  or  by  some  one  else ;  and  the  activities  by  which  it 
is  earned  occupy  so  important  a  place  in  our  hves,  are  so  closely 
dependent  upon  the  community,  have  so  much  to  do  with  our 
citizenship,  and  receive  so  much  attention  from  government, 
that  we  must  give  them  some  consideration  in  this  chapter  and 
several  chapters  following. 

While  young  people  are  spending  most  of  their  time  at  school 
or  at  play,  their  fathers  and  other  grown  people  are  usually 

1  The  activities  by  which  we  earn  a  living  are  also  the  activities  by  which  wealth 
is  produced.  It  is  important  to  understand  that  when  we  speak  of  "wealth" 
we  do  not  necessarily  mean  great  wealth.  A  boy  who  has  a  fifty-cent  knife,  or  a  girl 
who  has  a  twenty-five-cent  purse,  has  wealth  as  truly  as  the  man  who  owns  a  well- 
stocked  farm.  The  difference  is  merely  in  kind  and  amount.  Food,  clothing,  houses, 
books,  tools,  cattle,  are  all  forms  of  wealth.  A^iy  material  thing,  for  which  we  are 
wiUing  to  work  and  make  sacrifices  because  it  satisfies  our  wants,  is  wealth.  Earning 
a  living  is  merely  earning  or  producing  wealth  to  satisfy  our  wants  and  those  of 
others. 

123 


124  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

chiefly  occupied  in  the  business  of  making  a  living  or  "earning 
money."  ^  Children  are,  as  a  rule,  wholly  dependent  upon  their 
parents  for  their  living.  But  during  their  period 
of  vocational  of  dependence  they  are  gaining  skill  and  experi- 
^®  ence,   in    school    and    otherwise,    that   will    later 

enable  them  to  earn  their  own  living  and  that  of  other  people 
who  may,  in  turn,  become  dependent  upon  them. 

As  adult  life  approaches,  there  comes  an  increasing  desire 
for  independence  of  others,  to  have  possessions,  own  property, 
or  accumulate  wealth.  Our  vocations,  or  occupations,  by  which 
we  earn  a  livelihood,  come  to  occupy  a  prominent  place  in  our 
thought,  and  to  a  large  extent  control  our  activity.  Doubtless 
most  of  those  who  read  this  chapter  have  begun  to  think  more 
or  less  seriously  about  what  they  are  going  to  do  for  a  living. 
Some  may  be  already  doing  so,  in  part,  or  helping  to  earn  that 
of  their  families.  Boys  and  girls  who  live  on  farms  are  especially 
likely  to  have  a  share  in  the  work  by  which  the  family  living  is 
provided ;   but  most  boys  and  girls  have  more  or  less  regularly 

1  Gold  and  silver  and  paper  and  wood  are  forms  of  wealth.  Out  of  wood  we 
make  a  yardstick  or  a  peck  measure  with  which  to  measure  quantities  of  cloth  or 
grain.  In  a  similar  manner,  out  of  gold,  silver,  paper,  and  other  materials,  we  make 
money,  and  for  a  similar  reason,  viz.  to  measure  the  value  of  wealth.  When  we 
speak  of  a  fifty-cent  knife  and  a  twenty-five-cent  purse,  we  measure  the  value  of  these 
articles.  It  would  take  thousands  of  dollars  to  measure  the  value  of  a  well-stocked 
farm. 

When  we  say  that  a  boy  earns  a  dollar,  or  that  a  man  earns  $4.00  a  day,  we 
measure  the  value  of  his  work  or  his  service.  If  a  man  works  for  a  farmer,  he  very 
likely  receives  his  "board  and  lodging"  in  part  payment  for  his  services ;  he  makes  a 
direct  exchange  of  his  services  for  food  and  shelter.  But  he  also  probably  receives  in 
addition  an  amount  of  money,  because  with  the  money  he  can  buy  clothes  and  other 
things  that  the  farmer  cannot  give.  He  takes  the  money  and  buys  with  it  these 
other  things  that  he  needs  to  supply  his  wants.  Thus  money  becomes  something 
more  than  a  measure  of  wealth  or  of  services ;  it  is  also  a  means  of  exchanging  wealth 
or  services. 

These  are  the  two  uses  of  money.  Money  has  value  only  because  of  what  it 
represents  in  wealth,  and  wealth  is  useful  because  it  enables  us  to  satisfy  wants. 
These  things  are  mentioned  because  it  is  quite  important  that  we  should  never 
forget  that  "money"  and  "wealth"  are  worth  working  for  only  because  of  the 
"living,"  or  life,  that  they  help  us  to  attain. 


EARNING  A  LIVING 


125 


"earned  money,"  even  if  they  have  not  considered  it  necessary 
for  their  Hving.  An  inquiry  in  a  large,  first-year  high  school 
class  disclosed  the  fact  that  the  girls  of  the  class,  quite  as  much 
as  the  boys,  were  thinking  of  their  choice  of  vocation.  More 
avenues  are  open  to  girls  to-day  than  formerly  by  which  to 
earn  their  living  outside  of  the  family ;  but  even  the  manage- 
ment of  a  home  is  a  business  as  truly  as  the  management  of  a 
farm  or  factory,  and  is  an  exceedingly  important  factor  in  the 
earning  of  the  family  living. 


Helping  to  Earn  the  Family  Living 

What  part,  if  any,  do  you  have  in  helping  to  earn  the  family  living? 

What  have  you  done  during  the  past  year  to  earn  money  (a)  out  of  school 
hours  on  school  days,  (b)  on  Saturdays,  (c)  in  vacation  time?  Tabulate  the 
results  for  the  entire  class. 

What  vocation  would  you  like  to  follow  for  life  ?     Why  ? 

If  you  have  not  decided  upon  some  one  vocation,  name  several  that  seem 
attractive  to  you.     Why  are  they  attractive? 

What  do  you  know  about  the  opportunities  and  the  qualifications  neces- 
sary for  success  in  the  vocations  you  have  named  ?  How  may  you  proceed 
to  find  out  more  about  them? 

WTiat  vocations  offer  especial  opportunities  for  girls  and  women  to-day? 
How  do  these  opportunities  compare  with  those  when  your  mothers  were 
girls? 


126  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

Make  a  list  of  the  occupations  of  the  fathers  (or  other  members  of  the 
families)  of  the  members  of  your  class. 

Make  a  list  of  as  many  occupations  in  your  community  (town  or  county) 
as  you  can  think  of. 

Our  dependence  upon  others  for  a  living  by  no  means  ends 
with  childhood.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  an  entirely  "self- 
Dependence  made  man,"  by  which  is  meant  a  man  who  has  been 
of  the  pioneer  successful  entirely  by  his  own  efforts.  It  is  true 
that  the  primitive  hunter  and  the  pioneer  farmer  were  inde- 
pendent of  others  to  an  unusual  extent  (see  p.  14).  But  their 
living  was  a  meager  one,  and  they  could  not  accumulate  much 
wealth.  The  very  land  that  a  pioneer  occupies,  even  though  it 
is  extensive  and  fertile,  has  little  value  as  long  as  it  is  remote 
from  centers  of  population  (see  p.  18). 

Even  if  a  pioneer  laid  claim  to  a  large  tract  of  land,  he  could 
produce  little  wealth  from  it  in  crops  if  he  could  get  no  help  to 
cultivate  it,  or  if  he  had  no  improved  machinery  (made  by 
others);  and  whatever  he  produced,  he  and  his  family  could 
eat  but  Httle  of  the  product.  He  could  feed  some  to  his  few 
animals,  and  he  would  save  some  for  seed ;  but  anything  that 
he  raised  above  what  he  could  actually  use  would  have  no  value 
unless  he  could  get  it  to  other  people  who  wanted  it.  If  he 
could  not  sell  what  he  produced,  neither  could  he  buy  from 
others  what  they  produced  to  satisfy  other  wants  than  that  for 
food.  So  the  kind  of  living  a  person  enjoys,  and  the  amount  of 
wealth  he  accumulates,  depend  largely  upon  other  people,  and 
upon  the  community  in  which  he  lives. 

Under  present-day  conditions,  a  farmer  who  raises  wheat 
probably  uses  none  of  it  himself.  He  sells  his  entire  crop  for 
D  nden  e  ^^^  ^^^  °^  Others,  while  to  supply  himself  and  his 
of  the  modern  family  with  bread  he  goes  to  the  store  and  buys 
farmer  g^^j.  ^^^^  ^^^  j^g^.^^  ^^^^  milled  in  Minnesota  from 

wheat  raised  by  other  farmers,  perhaps  in  North  Dakota  or 
South  Dakota.     In  exchange  for  his  wheat  he  also  gets  clothing 


EARNING  A  LIVING 


127 


manufactured  in  New  York  or  New  England  from  cotton  raised 
in  Georgia  or  Texas,  or  from  wool  grown  in  Montana.  He  buys 
a  wagon  made  in  Indiana  from  lumber  cut  in  the  South  and 
iron  mined  in  Michigan  and  smelted  in  Ohio.  Thus  he  earns 
his  living  by  producing  food  for  other  people,  while  the  things 
he  uses  in  living  are  the  product  of  labor  expended  by  other 
people  in  the  effort  to  earn  their  living.  We  noticed  in  Chapter 
II  how  many  people  and  occupations  were  concerned  in  produc- 
ing a  pair  of  shoes  (p.  17). 


Picking  Cotton  to  Clothe  the  World 


While  the  farmer  or  other  worker  may  be  interested  primarily 
in  providing  for  his  own  wants  and  those  of  his  family,  he  can 
do  this  only  by  producing  something  or  performing  Earning  by 
service  for  others ;  and  while  each  worker  may  be  service 
most  concerned  about  what  he  receives  for  his  work,  the  com- 
munity is  most  concerned  about  what  he  produces.  Earning  a 
living  has  two  sides  to  it :  rendering  service  to  others  and  being 
paid  for  the  service  rendered.  It  is  as  if  the  community  entered 
into  a  sort  of  agreement  with  the  worker  to  the  effect  that  it 


128  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

will  provide  him  with  a  living  in  return  for  definite  service  to 
the  community  or  for  the  product  of  his  labor.  What  we  call 
"business "  is  selling  a  service.  It  may  be  personal  service,  such 
as  teaching,  or  prescribing  medicine,  or  nursing,  or  giving  legal 
advice,  or  cutting  hair,  or  driving  a  team,  or  running  an  auto- 
mobile. Or  it  may  be  purchasing,  storing,  retailing,  and  deliver- 
ing things  which  have  been  produced  perhaps  many  hundreds 
or  thousands  of  miles  away.  Or  it  may  be  raising  foodstuffs  on 
the  farm,  or  mining  fuels  and  metals  from  the  earth,  or  cutting 
timber  from  the  forest.  Or  it  may  be  manufacturing  —  buying 
materials  and  converting  them  into  products  serviceable  to 
others.  Whatever  it  is,  every  man's  business  is  also  the  com- 
munity's business,  and  the  community  has  a  right  to  expect 
industry  and  honest,  efl&cient  work  from  every  worker. 

Discuss  the  occupations  named  in  answer  to  the  two  questions  on  page 
126,  from  the  point  of  view  of  their  service  to  the  community. 

To  what  extent  is  your  father's  business  or  occupation  dependent  upon 
the  business  or  occupation  of  the  fathers  of  other  members  of  the  class? 

Show  how  your  father's  business  is  also  the  community's  business. 

What  is  the  price  of  land  in  your  neighborhood?  Consult  your  father 
or  friends  in  regard  to  the  increase  or  decrease  in  price  in  recent  years  and 
in  regard  to  the  reasons  for  it. 

There  are  exceptional  cases  where  people  receive  a  living  with- 
out earning  it.  One  class  of  such  people  is  represented  by 
thieves,  gamblers,  swindlers,  and  persons  engaged 
without  in  occupations  that  are  positively  harmful  to  the 

earning  community.     Such   people   may   be   very   skillful 

and  they  may  work  hard  enough,  but  they  take  what  others 
have  earned  without  producing  anything  of  value  to  the 
community. 

Then  there  are  those  who  are  incapable  of  productive  work 
because  of  physical  defects,  or  through  the  feebleness  of  old 
age.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  citizen  to  provide,  as  far  as  possible, 
during  his  productive  years,  for  the  "rainy  day"  of  misfortune 


EARNING  A  LIVING  1 29 

or  advancing  age  (see  page  167).     For  those  who  cannot  do  so, 
the  community  must  provide. 

Very  young  children  are  users  of  wealth  produced  by  others. 
It  is  expected,  however,  that  children  will  in  later  years  make 
return  to  the  community  for  what  they  have  received  during 
their  period  of  dependence. 

Some  people  inherit  wealth,  or  otherwise  come  into  posses- 
sion of  it  without  effort  on  their  part.  The  wealth  so  received, 
however,  has  been  earned  by  some  one,  or  has  come  inherited 
from  the  community  in  some  way.  If  the  person  wealth 
who  so  receives  it  uses  it  in  a  way  that  is  highly  useful  to  the 
community,  he  may  in  a  sense  earn  it  even  after  he  receives  it ; 
but  if  he  uses  it  solely  for  his  own  enjoyment,  without  elifort  to 
make  it  highly  useful  to  the  community,  he  does  not  in  any 
sense  earn  it,  and  places  himself  in  the  class  of  those  who  are 
wholly  dependent  upon  the  community. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  people  who  do  not  get  for  their 
work  a  living  that  fairly  compensates  them  for  the  service  they 
render  by  it  to  the  community.  If  our  com-  -gnfair 
munity  life  were  perfectly  adjusted  in  all  its  parts ;  compensation 
if  all  the  people  clearly  recognized  their  common 
interests  and  their  interdependence ;  if  they  had  the  spirit  of 
cooperation  and  were  wise  enough  to  devise  smoothly  working 
machinery  of  cooperation ;  —  then  the  returns  that  a  worker 
received  for  his  work  would  be  closely  proportionate  to  the  serv- 
ice rendered  by  his  work.  That  is,  he  would  get  what  he  earned, 
so  far  as  wages  or  profits  were  concerned.  But  this  is  one  of 
the  particulars  in  which  our  community  life  is  still  imperfect. 
Where  so  many  different  kinds  of  workers  are  engaged  in  pro- 
ducing shoes,  for  example,  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  determine 
how  much  each  should  be  paid  for  his  share  of  the  work.  What 
wages  should  be  given  to  the  different  classes  of  workers  who 
care  for  cattle,  make  the  leather,  manufacture  the  machines 
with  which  the  shoes  are  made,  operate  the  machines,  mine  the 


I30 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


coal  and  iron  for  the  production  of  the  machines,  and  so  on? 
What  profits  shall  be  allowed  to  the  men  who  raise  the  cattle, 
to  the  merchants  who  sell  the  shoes  and  the  machines,  and  to 


I.   Logging. 


2.   The  Cement  Age. 


Courtesy  American  Magazine  oj  Art. 
3.   Builders. 
Some  Forms  of  Service 
Mural  decorations  in  High  School,  Grand  Rapids,  Mich. 


the  transportation  companies  that  carry  them  from  the  fac- 
tories to  the  dealers?  What  interest  shall  be  received  by  the 
men  who  furnish  the  capital  necessary  to  run  the  factories  and 


EARNING  A  LIVING  131 

the  farms?  These  questions  relating  to  the  distribution  oj 
wealth  that  men  produce  have  proved  very  difficult  to  answer 
satisfactorily. 

A  very  useful  and  interesting,  but  rather  difficult,  science  has  grown  up 
to  explain  the  production,  distribution,  and  use  of  wealth.  It  is  called  the 
science  of  economics.  Of  all  the  divisions  of  this  science,  that  relating  to 
the  distribution  of  wealth  is  the  most  perplexing.  It  is  the  inequalities  in  the 
distribution  of  wealth,  the  sense  of  injustice  produced  by  these  inequalities, 
and  sometimes  a  failure  to  understand  what  a  fair  distribution  is,  that  have 
caused  all  the  labor  disputes  referred  to  in  Chapter  VII  (p.  71),  and  the 
discontent  sometimes  felt  by  farmers  and  other  producers  in  regard  to  the 
prices  of  their  products. 

Have  you  ever  heard  any  one  say,  "The  world  owes  me  a  living"?  Is 
this  a  true  statement?     If  so,  in  what  sense  do  you  think  it  is  true? 

Which  do  you  think  is  the  truer  statement :  "I  have  a  right  to  a  living," 
or  "I  have  a  right  to  earn  a  living"?     Discuss  the  difference. 

A  thief  has  been  known  to  say,  "I  was  brought  into  the  world  without 
my  own  consent ;  therefore  the  world  owes  me  a  living,  and  I  owe  the  world 
nothing."  Is  this  good  argument?  Did  the  people  upon  whom  he  de- 
pends for  a  living  have  any  more  to  say  about  their  being  brought  into  the 
world  than  he  had? 

What  things  are  you  using  to-day  that  were  not  provided  for  you  by 
others  ? 

If  a  stranger  should  come  to  your  community  to-day  to  live,  what  are 
some  of  the  things  that  he  would  find  already  provided  by  the  community 
for  his  use  in  making  a  living  ? 

Name  five  important  inventions  and  state  what  they  have  done  for  you. 

Would  you  say  that  the  world  owes  Thomas  A.  Edison  and  Luther 
Burbank  a  living?     Why? 

How  are  you  indebted  for  your  living  to  the  pioneers  who  settled  your 
state?  to  Robert  Fulton?  to  the  men  who  built  the  first  transcontinental 
railroad? 

Can  you  think  of  some  way  in  which  your  family  is  indebted  for  its  liv- 
ing to  the  British  nation?  to  France?  to  ancient  Greece?  to  the  Phoeni- 
cians? to  the  people  of  Brazil? 

Which  is  the  greater,  the  debt  of  your  family  to  the  world  or  the  debt 
of  the  world  to  your  family  ? 

WTiat  is  a  "parasite"?  Could  this  term  be  appropriately  applied  to  any 
of  the  people  referred  to  in  the  last  few  paragraphs  of  the  text  above? 


132 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


Each  citizen  has  a  right  to  feel  that  the  government  is  in- 
terested in  his  individual  prosperity  and  happiness ;    and  it  is, 

for  unhappy  and  discontented  citizens  are  seldom 
Government  ^^-^ 

interested  in  good  citizens.  But  the  government  represents 
production  ^j^^  community  as  a  whole,  and  has  the  interest  of 
the  community  as  a  whole  in  its  keeping  rather  than  the  in- 
terest of  particular  individuals.  Its  interest  is  primarily  in 
what  each  citizen  produces,  for  it  is  upon  this  that  the  strength 
of  the  nation  depends. 

The  "national  A  few  days  after  war  was  declared  against  Ger- 
army"  of  many,  the  President  made  an  appeal  to  his  fellow 
producers         countrymen,  in  which  he  said : 

It  is  evident  to  every  thinking  man  that  our  industries  on  the  farms,  in 
the  shipyards,  in  the  mines,  in  the  factories,  must  be  made  more  prohfic 
and  more  efficient  than  ever  and  that  they  must  be  more  economically 
managed  and  better  adapted  to  the  particular  requirements  of  our  task  than 
they  have  been ;  and  what  I  want  to  say  is  that  the  men  and  women  who 
devote  their  thought  and  their  energy  to  these  things  will  be  serving  the 
country  and  conducting  the  fight  for  peace  and  freedom  just  as  truly  and 
just  as  effectively  as  the  men  on  the  battlefield  or  in  the  trenches.  The 
industrial  forces  of  the  country,  men  and  women  alike,  will  be  a  great 
national,  a  great  international  Service  Army,  —  a  notable  and  honored  host 
engaged  in  the  service  of  the  nation  and  the  world.  .  .  .  Thousands,  nay, 
hundreds  of  thousands,  of  men  otherwise  liable  to  military  service  will  of 
right  and  necessity  be  excused  from  that  service  and  assigned  to  the  funda- 
mental, sustaining  work  of  the  fields  and  factories  and  mines,  and  they  will 
be  as  much  part  of  the  great  patriotic  forces  of  the  nation  as  the  men  under 
fire. 

He  then  appealed  directly  to  every  kind  of  worker  in  the 
country,  and  to  the  farmers  he  said : 

The  supreme  need  of  our  own  nation  and  of  the  nations  with  which  we 
are  cooperating  is  an  abundance  of  supplies,  and  especially  of  foodstuffs. 
.  .  .  "Without  abundant  food  ...  the  whole  great  enterprise  upon  which 
we  have  embarked  will  break  down  and  fail.  .  .  .  Upon  the  farmers  of  this 
country,  therefore,  in  large  measure,  rests  the  fate  of  the  war  and  the  fate 
of  nations.     Let  me  suggest,  also,  that  every  one  who  creates  or  cultivates 


EARNING  A  LIVING  133 

a  garden  helps,  and  helps  greatly,  to  solve  the  problem  of  the  feeding  of 
the  nations;  and  that  every  housewife  who  practices  strict  economy  puts 
herself  in  the  ranks  of  those  who  serve  the  nation. 

The  nation  needs  the  productive  work  of  each  citizen  in  time 
of  peace  as  truly  as  in  time  of  war,  although  when  it  is  not 
fighting  for  its  very  hfe  it  is  more  tolerant  of  those  who  do  not 
contribute  efficiently  by  their  work  to  the  common  good.  It 
carries  them  along  somehow.  But  such  members  of  the  com- 
munity are  a  burden  and  a  source  of  weakness  at  all  times. 
Therefore,  for  example,  there  are  in  most  of  our  communities  laws 
against  vagrancy ;  that  is,  against  willful  and  habitual  idlers 
"without  visible  means  of  support,"  such  as  beggars  and  tramps. 

There  are  times  when  many  men  are  "out  of  work."  In 
times  of  business  depression  the  number  may  become  very 
great,  while  in  prosperous  times  the  number  p  lj  ^ 
dwindles ;  but  always  there  are  some.  It  is  often  the  unem- 
through  no  fault  of  their  own  ;  it  is  another  result  ^  °^^ 
of  the  imperfect  adjustment  of  our  community  life.  It  often 
happens  that  while  large  numbers  of  men  are  unable  to  find  work 
in  industrial  centers,  the  farmers  may  be  suffering  for  want  of 
help.  This  may  be  merely  because  there  is  no  way  by  which 
to  let  workmen  know  where  they  are  needed,  or  of  distributing 
them  to  meet  the  need.  Or,  many  of  the  unemployed  may  be 
unskilled,  while  the  demand  is  for  skilled  workmen;  or  they 
may  be  skilled  in  one  line,  while  the  demand  is  in  another  line. 
Whatever  the  causes,  the  "problem  of  the  unemployed"  is  one 
of  the  most  serious  that  the  community  has  to  deal  with.  Dur- 
ing the  war  the  national  government  sought  to  overcome  these 
difficulties  by  the  organization  of  an  employment  service  in  the 
Department  of  Labor,  and  state  and  local  communities  estab- 
lished employment  bureaus. 

Who  have  been  some  of  the  builders  of  your  own  community  by  reason 
of  their  business  life?     Explain. 

So  far  as  you  have  observed,  what  boys  have  been  most  successful  after 


134  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

leaving  school  —  those  who  make  it  a  practice  to  do  all  they  can  for  their 
employers,  or  those  who  have  tried  to  do  the  least  possible? 

Is  it  true  in  your  community  that  the  most  useful  citizens  are  those  who  care 
more  about  the  excellence  of  their  work  than  about  what  they  receive  for  it? 

Are  there  many  vagrants  in  your  community?  Are  there  laws  against 
vagrancy?     If  so,  what  are  they? 

Are  there  often  many  men  out  of  work  in  your  community  ?  If  so,  why 
is  it? 

Is  it  ever  difficult  to  get  farm  labor  in  your  locality?  If  so,  how  do  the 
farmers  explain  it? 

What  experience  have  the  farmers  of  your  locality  had  during  and  since 
the  war  in  getting  labor  when  it  was  needed?  Did  the  government  help 
them  at  that  time?     How? 

It  is  of  the  greatest  importance  both  to  the  individual  and  to 
the  community  that  every  citizen  (i)  should  be  continuously 
employed  in  a  useful  occupation,  (2)  should  be  free  and  able 
to  choose  the  occupation  for  which  he  is  best  fitted,  and  in 
which  he  will  be  happiest,  and  (3)  should  be  thoroughly  efficient 
in  his  work,  whatever  it  is. 

(i)  The  community  has  a  right  to  expect  every  citizen  to  be 
industrious  and  productive,  for  only  in  this  way  can  he  be 
self-sustaining  and  at  the  same  time  contribute  his 
the  com-  share  to  the  well-being  of  the  community.     Doubt- 

munity  to  jegg  ^U  who  read  this  chapter  are  desirous  of  doing 
useful  work.  At  the  same  time,  it  is  easy  for  any 
of  us  to  fall  into  the  habit  of  thinking  more  about  what  we 
can  get  than  about  what  we  can  give.  There  are  people  who 
habitually  seek  to  do  as  little  as  possible  for  what  they  receive, 
or  to  get  all  they  can  for  the  least  possible  service.  This  ap- 
plies not  only  to  idlers  who  live  entirely  off  the  community 
without  any  service  on  their  part,  but  also  to  those  who  have 
employment,  but  who  seek  to  evade,  by  "time-serving"  and 
otherwise  "slacking,"  the  full  responsibility  of  service.  We 
sometimes  hear  complaint  in  regard  to  public  officials  who  draw 
good  salaries  without  rendering  adequate  or  honest  public 
service  in  return,  and  to  such  we  frequently  apply  the  term  of 


EARNING  A  LIVING  135 

^'grafter.'"  But  the  principle  is  exactly  the  same  when  any 
person  who  has  undertaken  to  do  a  piece  of  work  fritters  away 
his  time  or  "loafs  on  the  job." 

After  all,  the  chief  return  that  we  get  for  our  work  is  not  the 
wages  or  the  profits,  important  as  they  are  to  us,  but  the  satis- 
faction of  doing  something  that  is  worth  while,  satisfaction 
If  this  pleasure  is  absent  from  the  work  we  do,  no  ^^  service 
amount  of  money  returns  can  compensate  us  for  it.  The  happy 
man  is  a  busy  man,  an  industrious  man ;  and  his  happiness  is 
more  in  the  doing  than  in  the  mere  fact  of  money  returns. 

(2)  The  value  of  our  work  to  the  community  and  the  pleasure 
that  we  derive  from  it  both  depend  to  a  large  extent  upon  our 
fitness  for  it.  It  is  important  to  choose  our  work  importance 
carefully.  There  are  four  important  considera-  of  a  right 
tions  in  choosing  a  vocation :  (a)  its  usefulness  to 
the  community,  {h)  one's  own  fitness  for  it,  (c)  one's  happiness 
in  it,  and  {d)  whether  it  offers  an  adequate  living  to  one's  self 
and  dependents.  The  last  of  these  is,  of  course,  a  most  impor- 
tant consideration.  What  a  person  receives  for  his  work  ought 
to  be  determined  by  the  first  two  considerations,  i.e.  the  use- 
fulness of  the  work  to  the  community  and  one's  fitness  for  it. 
We  have  seen  that  this  is  not  always  true.  In  such  cases  it 
often  becomes  necessary  to  make  a  further  choice  —  a  choice 
between  working  primarily  for  one's  own  profit  and  working 
primarily  for  the  satisfaction  that  comes  from  important  service 
well  rendered.  It  is  not  always  easy  to  make  this  choice ;  but 
there  are  many  people  who  have  sacrificed  large  incomes  for 
the  sake  of  doing  work  that  the  community  needs  and  for  which 
they  consider  themselves  well  fitted. 

Many  people  seem  to  have  little  choice  in  the  matter  of  voca- 
tion.    The  farmer's  boy  has  to  work  on  the  farm  ^  choice  of 
whether  he  wants  to  or  not ;   and  many  a  man  is  a  vocation  is 
farmer  apparently  for  no  other  reason  than  that 
he  was  raised  on  the  farm  and  has  seen  no  opportunity  to  do 


136-  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

anything  else.  Other  people  seem  to  be  forced  into  other  occu- 
pations by  circumstances  or  drift  into  them  by  chance.  But  even 
in  these  cases  there  is  something  of  a  choice.  The  farmer's  boy 
"chooses"  to  remain  on  the  farm  rather  than  to  take  the  chances 
involved  in  running  away,  or  because  he  would  rather  be  at  home 
than  in  a  strange  city.  The  discontented  farmer  might  have  cho- 
sen to  be  a  lawyer  if  he  had  been  willing  to  make  enough  sacrifices 
to  get  ready  for  it ;  and  even  now  he  "  chooses  "  to  remain  on  the 
farm  in  spite  of  his  dislike  for  it  because  to  do  otherwise  would 
mean  sacrifice  of  some  kind  or  other  that  he  is  unwilling  to  make. 

The  pleasure  and  effectiveness  of  any  work,  however,  are 
increased  if  its  importance  to  the  community  or  to  the  world 
is  clearly  understood ;    for  all  productive  work  is 
Jf^ou^woTk^    important.     There  is  no  more  terrible  work  than 
to  the  that  of  the  soldier  in  the  trenches.     No  man  would 

commum  y  voluntarily  choose  it  for  his  own  pleasure.  But 
millions  of  men  have  gone  into  it  joyfully  because  of  the  results 
to  be  attained  for  their  country  and  the  world.  Other  millions 
of  men  and  women,  and  even  children,  on  the  farms,  in  the  mines, 
in  the  shops,  and  in  the  homes,  worked  and  sacrificed  during 
the  war  with  Germany  as  they  had  never  worked  and  sacrificed 
before,  produced  results  such  as  had  never  been  produced  before, 
and  doubtless  experienced  a  satisfaction  in  their  toil  that  they  had 
never  experienced  before,  because  each  one  saw  more  definitely 
than  before  the  relation  of  his  work  to  the  great  national  and 
world  purpose.  An  understanding  of  the  meaning  of  our  work  in 
its  relation  to  community  welfare  goes  a  long  way  toward  "  trans- 
muting days  of  dreary  work  into  happier  lives"  (see  p.  9). 

The  opportunity   to   choose   one's   calling,   to   decide  what 

service  one  will  fit  himself  for,  the  right  of  "self-determination" 

^      ,  with  regard  to  what  one's  work  shall  be  —  this  is 

Freedom,  ° 

equality,  what  "freedom"   means.     This  is  why  men  are 

and  justice       happier  when  they  are  free.     The  "equality"  and 
"justice"  that  all  men  want  mean  equality  of  opportunity  to 


EARNING  A  LIVING 


137 


^^^^^^^ 

■^■^^■^ 

1       QC  0 

to 

llJi 

2  a  S  0  p; 
t  £  g  1  g 

.          i 

%          1 

1  i2i 

1 

iilM  s 

"'•  1  §  !fi  ^■ 

CO  ^       1 

OUR 
HOOL 

C3    t 

S  p  ?  1 1 

PAY 

E  YOUR 

IP 

-s. 

5: 

J  io  s  S  R  i^  S  5.5 

1                 is 

-  S  S  r^  g  5^ 

1      '^ 

1    TOCONTINU 

138  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

choose  that  which  they  like  to  do,  and  an  equal  chance  to  make  a 
living,  or  to  obtain  compensation  for  their  labor  or  enterprise. 
It  is  for  these  things  more  than  for  anything  else  that  people 
have  left  old-world  conditions  and  come  to  America.  The 
ability  to  make  a  living  under  conditions  of  freedom  and  justice 
depends  in  part  upon  the  common  wants  of  the  community, 
and  upon  the  willingness  of  members  of  the  community  to  pay 
for  the  satisfaction  of  their  wants  enough  to  enable  those  who 
perform  service  for  them  also  to  satisfy  theirs.  But  it  also 
depends  upon  the  ability  of  the  individual  to  make  a  choice, 
and  upon  his  willingness  to  spend  years  in  preparation,  if  need 
be,  to  enable  him  to  offer  a  service  of  the  kind  he  likes  to  render, 
and  for  which  others  are  glad  to  pay  well. 

We  are  living  in  a  day  of  specialists.  The  very  nature  of  our 
interdependent  life  makes  it  necessary  for  each  worker  to  do 
A  day  of  o^e  thing  and  to  do  it  exceedingly  well.     Even 

specialists  farming  is  broken  up  to  a  considerable  extent  into 
special  kinds  of  farming.  Moreover,  since  the  worker  must  be 
a  specialist,  requiring  long,  special  training,  it  is  more  difficult 
than  it  used  to  be  for  him  to  change  from  one  occupation  to 
another  after  he  has  once  started.  Each  person,  therefore, 
owes  it  both  to  himself  and  to  the  community  to  choose  his 
vocation  carefully,  so  far  as  he  has  opportunity  to  make  a  choice. 
The  schools  are  more  and  more  making  it  their  business  to  give 
boys  and  girls  the  knowledge  and  the  experience  that  will  enable 
them  to  choose  wisely  their  mode  of  earning  a  living. 

(3)  Whether  a  citizen  follows  a  vocation  of  Jiis  own  voluntary 
choice,  or  one  into  which  he  has  fallen  by  chance  or  by  force  of 
The  necessity  circumstances,  he  is  under  obligation  to  the  com- 
for  training  munity  as  well  as  to  himself  to  do  his  work  well. 
In  these  days  of  specialization  this  inevitably  means  prepara- 
tion, training.  If  the  community  expects  the  citizen  to  perform 
efficient  service,  it  must  afford  him  a  fair  opportunity  for 
preparation.    During  the  war  the  government  made  special 


EARNING  A  LIVING  139 

provision  for  training,  not  only  for  military  service,  but  also 
for  the  industrial  occupations  that  the  nation  needed.  Voca- 
tional training  is  now  receiving  great  attention  from  the  schools 
and  from  government. 

As  in  the  choice  of  a  vocation,  so  in  preparation  for  it  the 
individual  has  his  share  of  responsibility.     It  is  always  a  tempta- 
tion for  young  people  to  get  out  into  the  active  work  g^sty  en-' 
of  the  world  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.     The  trance  upon 
desire  to  be  independent,  to  earn  one's  own  living, 
to  "make  money,"  is  strong.     It  leads  many  boys  and  girls  to 
leave  school  even  before  they  have  finished  their  elementary 
education.     In  the  great  majority  of  cases  this  results  in  serious 
economic  loss  both  to  the  boy  or  girl  and  to  the  community. 
The  charts  on  page  137  furnish  evidence  of  this. 

We  call  it  patriotism  when  a  man  gives  all  that  he  has,  even 
his  life  if  necessary,  for  the  good  of  his  country,  without  stopping 
to  consider  whether  or  not  he  will  receive  an  equal  Patriotism  in 
benefit  in  return.  There  is  no  higher  type  of  vocational  life 
patriotism  than  that  which  prompts  a  citizen  to  perform  his 
best  service  for  the  community  in  his  daily  calling,  not  for  what 
he  can  get  for  it,  but  for  what  he  can  give.  This  patriotism  is 
shared  by  the  young  citizen  who  is  willing  to  defer  an  apparent 
immediate  gain  to  himself  m  order  to  prepare  himself  thoroughly 
for  more  effective  service  later. 

If  your  father  had  his  life  to  live  over  again,  would  he  choose  the  same 
vocation  that  he  is  now  following?     Consult  him  as  to  his  reasons. 

What  special  kinds  of  farming  exist  in  your  locality  ?  Is  there  a  tendency 
in  your  community  toward  specialization  in  farming,  or  toward  general 
farming?     Reasons? 

To  what  extent  is  "scientific  farming"  practiced  in  your  locality?  What 
does  it  mean? 

Make  a  study  of  the  extent  to  which  specialization  is  necessary  in  the 
industries  of  your  town. 

Does  your  school  offer  any  vocational  training  or  vocational  guidance? 

Is  there  a  tendency  in  your  school  for  boys  and  girls  to  quit  before  com- 
pleting the  course?     At  what  gritdes  dp  pupils  begin  to  drop  out  in  con- 


I40  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

siderable  numbers?     Why  do  they  leave?     What  sort  of  work  do  they 
do  when  they  leave  school  ? 

At  what  ages  does  the  law  in  your  state  permit  boys  and  girls  to  go  to 
work?  Show  how  this  restriction  of  freedom  now  increases  freedom  later 
on  (see  pp.  137,  139). 

READINGS 

In  Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 

Series  A:   Lesson    3,  The  cooperation  of  specialists  in  modern  society. 

Lesson    5,  The  human  resources  of  a  community. 

Lesson    7,  Organization. 

Lesson    8,  The  rise  of  machine  industry. 

Lesson    g,  Social  control. 

Lesson  10,  Indirect  costs. 

Lesson  11,  Education  as  encouraged  by  industry. 

Lesson  23,  The  services  of  money. 

Lesson  28,  The  worker  in  our  society. 
Series  B  :   Lesson    8,  Finding  a  job. 

Lesson  11,  The  work  of  women. 

Lesson  28,  Women  in  industry. 
Series  C  :   Lesson    9,  Inventions. 

Lesson  11,  The  effects  of  machinery  on  rural  life. 

Lesson  21,  Before  coins  were  made. 

Lesson  22,  The  minting  of  coins. 

Lesson  23,  Paper  money. 

Lesson  24,  Money  in  the  community  and  the  home. 

Lesson  29,  Child  labor. 
In  Long's  American  Patriotic  Prose: 

Frank  A.  Vanderlip,  "Service  Leads  to  Success,"  pp.  347-348- 
Charles  M.  Schwab,  "Opportunity  is  Plentiful  in  America,"  pp.  348-350. 
Tufts,  The  Real  Business  of  Living,  chaps,  viii-x ;   xv-xxviii. 

The  following  books  relating  to  vocational  life  may  be  helpful  and  stimulating 
if  available : 

Gowin  and  Wheatley,  Occupations  (Ginn  &  Co.). 

Giles,  Vocational  Civics  (Macmillan). 

Gulick,  The  Efficient  Life  (Doubleday,  Page  &  Co.). 

Reid  and  others.  Careers  for  the  Coming  Men  (Saalfield  Pub.  Co.,  Akron,  Ohio). 

Marden,  Choosing  a  Career  (Bobbs-Merrill,  Indianapolis). 

Marden,  Talks  with  Great  Workers  (Thos.  Y.  Crowell). 

Bok,  Successward  (Doubleday,  Page  &  Co.). 

Williams,  How  It  Is  Made,  How  It  Is  Done,  How  It  Works  (Thos.  Nelson  &  Sons). 

Fowler,  Starting  in  Life  (Little,  Brown  &  Co.). 

Parsons,  Choosing  a  Vocation  (Houghton  Mifflin  Co.). 

Carnegie,  The  Empire  of  ^miness,  (Doubleday  Page  &  Co.). 


CHAPTER  XII 

GOVERNMENT  AS   A   MEANS   OF   COOPERATION   IN 
AGRICULTURE 

According  to  the  census  of  1910,  somewhat  more  than  38 
million  of  the  92  million  people  of  our  country  at  that  time  were 
engaged  in  "gainful  occupations";  that  is,  in  Gainful occu- 
earning  their  living  and  that  of  the  remaining  pations  in  the 
54  million  people  who  were  dependent  upon  them.  ^^^  States 
Of  the  38  million,  more  than  13I  million  were  producing  wealth 
directly  from  the  land,  in  agriculture,  forest  industries,  mining 
industries,  and  fishing.  About  10^  million  were  engaged  in 
manufacturing  and  mechanical  trades,  by  which  the  materials 
extracted  from  the  land  are  transformed  into  articles  of  use. 
The  remainder  of  the  "breadwinners"  were  engaged  in  trade 
and  transportation,  and  in  professional,  personal,  and  public 
service. 

Of  the  13I  million  people  gaining  their  living  directly  from 
the  land,  more  than  12I  million  were  engaged  in  agricultural 
pursuits.  At  the  present  time  (1919)  probably  importance  of 
one  half  of  the  population,  including  women  and  agriculture 
children,  is  directly  dependent  upon  agriculture  as  a  means  of 
livelihood,  while  the  other  half,  as  well,  is  dependent  upon 
it  for  food  supply  and  the  materials  for  clothing. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  agriculture  is  the  source  of  the 
nation's  food  supply  and  of  a  large  part  of  the  national  wealth, 
and  that  so  large  a  part  of  the  people  are  engaged  in  it  as  a 
means  of  livelihood,  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  our  government 
deeply  interested  in  it  and  performing  a  vast  amount  of  service 
for  its  promotion. 

141 


142  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

The  government  of  every  state  in  the  Union  has  an  organi- 
zation to  protect  and  promote  the  farming  industry  and  the 
State  de  art-  welfare  of  the  farmer.  This  organization  differs 
ments  of  in  its  form  and  in  the  extent  of  service  performed 

agricuittire  -^^  ^j^^  several  states,  due  partly  to  the  varying 
importance  of  agriculture  in  the  different  states,  and  partly  to 
the  varying  success  with  which  the  people  and  their  represen- 
tatives have  dealt  with  the  problem.     In  some  of  the  states 


Agricttltural  BinLDiNG,  University  of  Illinois 

there  are  departments  of  agriculture,  equal  in  dignity  and 
power  with  the  other  main  divisions  of  the  government.  In 
others  agricultural  interests  are  placed  in  the  hands  of  sub- 
ordinate boards,  bureaus,  or  commissions.  In  some  cases  the 
officials  in  charge  of  the  organization,  such  as  the  commissioner 
of  agriculture,  are  elected  directly  by  the  people,  while  in  others 
they  are  appointed  by  the  governor  of  the  state  or  by  the  legis- 
lature. Often  the  department  is  organized  in  numerous  branches 
with  specialists  at  the  head  of  each.  Thus,  there  are  dairy 
commissioners,  horticultural  boards,  livestock  sanitary  boards, 


GOVERNMENT  AS   A  MEANS  OF   COOPERATION       143 

foresters,  entomologists  (specialists  in  insect  life  in  its  relation 
to  agriculture),  and  others,  to  look  after  every  aspect  of  farming. 
In  a  constantly  decreasing  number  of  states  the  powers  of  the 
agricultural  officers  are  slight  and  their  work  ineffectual ;  but 
in  others  the  organization  is  thorough  and  the  work  efficiently 
done  and  of  the  greatest  value  to  the  state. 


Experimental  Farm,  Agricultural  College,  Michigan 

In  general,  state  departments  of  agriculture  have  had  two 

kinds  of  duties:  first,    regulative   and   administrative   duties, 

such  as  the  enforcement  of  laws  relating  to  agri- 

Duties  or 
culture  passed  by  the  state  legislature,  enforcing   state  depart- 

quarantine  against  diseased  animals,  establishing  ments^of  ^ 
standards  for  the  grading  of  grain,  making  and 
enforcing  rules  for  the  control  of  animal  and  plant  diseases, 
and  similar  matters.  Second,  investigative  and  educational 
duties,  such  as  the  investigation  of  animal  and  plant  diseases, 
crop  conditions,  and  other  agricultural  problems ;  and  the  dis- 
tribution of  information  to  the  farmers  and  to  the  people  of 
the  state  generally,  relating  to  agricultural  matters.     Reports 


144  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

and  bulletins  on  special  subjects  are  published  and  farmers' 
institutes  are  conducted. 

The  practice  is  growing,  however,  to  transfer  the  work  of 
investigation  and  education  to  the  state  agricultural  colleges 
and  experiment  stations  which  have  been  estab- 
coUeges  and  lished  and  are  conducted  with  the  cooperation  of 
experiment  j^^g  national  Department  of  Agriculture  (see  pp. 
147,  1 48).  These  institutions  have  a  corps  of 
highly  trained  specialists  and  educators  and  are  equipped  with 
laboratories  and  experimental  farms  where  research  may  be 
carried  on  under  the  most  favorable  conditions.  The  agri- 
cultural colleges  not  only  educate  young  men  and  women 
within  their  walls  in  agriculture  and  related  subjects,  but 
carry  on  extension  work  throughout  the  state  for  the  benefit 
of  the  farmers  and  the  people  of  rural  communities.  With 
the  development  of  these  institutions  the  state  department 
of  agriculture  is  left  with  almost  purely  administrative  and 
regulative  duties.  This  seems  to  be  the  wiser  plan  of  or- 
ganization. 

Write  to  your  state  commissioner  of  agriculture  or  to  the  secretary  of 
your  state  board  of  agriculture  for  a  copy  of  the  law,  or  other  published 
document,  containing  a  description  of  the  organization  of  your  state  depart- 
ment of  agriculture  and  its  work.  Also  ask  for,  if  available,  a  list  of  publica- 
tions issued  by  the  department,  from  which  you  may  later  select  such  as  may 
seem  to  be  useful. 

Write  to  your  state  agricultural  college,  or  to  the  experiment  station,  for 
•its  latest  report  showing  the  work  that  it  has  done,  and  for  a  list  of  available 
publications. 

(In  writing  to  public  officials  for  materials  for  class  use,  it  is  well  to  send 
but  one  letter  for  the  class  or  school,  and  to  request  the  smallest  number  of 
copies  that  will  serve  the  purposes  of  the  class.  Public  officials  are  busy 
people,  and  the  publications  for  which  you  ask  cost  the  people  of  the  com- 
munity money. 

The  members  of  the  class  may  compete,  if  desired,  in  formulating  a  suit- 
able letter,  and  a  class  committee  may  select  the  best,  or  formulate  one  on 
the  basis  of  suggestions  from  the  class. 


GOVERNMENT  AS  A   MEANS   OF   COOPERATION       145 

Materials  collected  in  this  way  should  become  school  property,  and  the 
class  should  be  conscious  that  it  is  accumulating  a  library  for  later  classes 
as  well  as  for  themselves.) 

Study  and  report  on  the  following : 

The  organization  of  your  state  department  of  agriculture:  its  officers 
and  how  chosen ;   its  divisions  and  their  work. 

The  work  done  at  your  state  experiment  station  (individual  reports  may 
be  made  on  the  several  important  lines  of  work,  or  on  particular  investiga- 
tions or  discoveries  of  interest). 

The  character  of  the  extension  courses  offered  by  your  state  agricultural 
college.     Courses  given  in  your  own  community. 


Farmers'  Convention  Hall,  University  of  Tknnessee 


Instances  of  regulative  work  done  in  your  state  and  county  by  your 
state  department  of  agriculture. 

Instances  in  which  your  county  or  locality  has  been  served  by  your  state 
agricultural  college  or  by  the  experiment  station. 

The  difficulty  of  the  farmer  in  coping  with  animal  disease  or  plant  disease 
by  his  own  effort. 

Facts  to  show  that  money  has  been  saved  to  your  community  by  the 
state  agricultural  department  or  experiment  station. 

Why  the  people  of  the  cities  of  your  state  should  pay  taxes  to  support 
the  department  of  agriculture. 

Facts  to  show  that  your  state  department  of  agriculture  and  your  experi- 
ment station  are  really  "means  of  cooperation"  in  your  state  and  county. 


146  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

Extent  to  which  the  farmers  of  your  locality  actually  cooperate  through 
the  governmental  machinery  of  the  department  of  agriculture. 

Consult  your  parents  or  farmer  friends  as  to  ways  in  which  the  work  of 
your  state  department  of  agriculture,  agricultural  college,  or  experiment 
station  should  be  extended. 

Sentiment  among  the  people  of  your  locality,  especially  the  farmers,  as  to 
the  usefulness  of  your  department  of  agriculture,  experiment  station  and 
agricultural  college. 

Get  information  from  your  county  agent,  or  from  your  state  agricultural 
college,  as  to  the  states  having  the  best  organized  departments  of  agriculture, 
and  then  get  information  as  to  their  points  of  excellence. 

The  advantage  of  a  state  fair  (a)  to  the  farmer,  (b)  to  the  state.  The 
fair  as  a  means  of  cooperation. 

The  management  of  your  county  fair  (if  any). 

It  does  one  state  very  little  good  to  fight  hog  cholera  or  the 
boll  weevil  unless  neighboring  states  do  likewise.  Inferior 
A  i  It  re  service  in  one  state  by  its  department  of  agriculture 
a  national  is  a  detriment  not  only  to  the  farmers  of  that  state, 
en  erpnse  ^^^  ^^  those  of  Other  states  and  of  the  country  as  a 
whole.  States  gradually  learn  from  one  another  and  frequently 
adopt  from  one  another  the  best  methods  that  are  developed. 
This  is  a  slow  process.  The  agriculture  of  our  nation  must  be 
considered  as  a  great  national  enterprise,  and  not  as  forty-eight 
separate  enterprises.  This  was  made  evident  during  the  recent 
war.     Hence  the  necessity  for  national  control. 

Washington  and  Jefferson,  like  other  founders  of  our  nation, 
took  the  keenest  interest  in  agriculture.  But  in  the  early 
Ea  1  f  ai  y^''-^^  ^^  ^^^  history  little  was  done  by  the  national 
support  of  government  for  its  promotion,  except  by  a  rather 
agnc  ure  generous  policy  of  disposing  of  the  public  lands 
(see  Chapter  XIV).  In  1820  a  committee  on  agriculture  was 
for  the  first  time  created  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 
and  in  1825  a  similar  committee  in  the  Senate.  In  1839  Con- 
gress made  its  first  appropriation  for  agricultural  purposes, 
$1000,  to  be  spent  in  gathering  information  about  crops  and 
other  agricultural  matters.     This  was  a  small  beginning  when 


GOVERNMENT  AS   A   MEANS  OF  COOPERATION       1 47 

compared  with  the  $37,000,000  appropriated  by  Congress  for 
agricultural  purposes  in  1918. 

The  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  was  created 
by  Congress  in  1862,  though  it  was  not  placed  on  an  equality 
with  the  other  executive  departments  of  the  Creation  of 
national  government,  with  a  member  of  the  Department 
President's  cabinet  at  its  head,  until  1889.  While  °  ^'*^"  ^^ 
it  has  some  very  important  regulatory  powers,  that  is,  powers 
to  enforce  laws  and  otherwise  to  control  the  practice  of  the 


Groxjp  of  Buildings,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture, 
Washington,  D.C. 

people,  its  service  has  been  largely  by  way  of  scientific  investi- 
gation of  the  problems  of  agriculture  and  the  distribution  of 
the  information  so  acquired.  Its  policy  has  been  one  of  co- 
operation with  state  authorities. 

In  1862  Congress  gave  to  the  several  states  portions  of  the 
public  lands,  the  proceeds  from  which  were  to  be  used  for  the 

establishment    and    support    of    the    agricultural 

r      1  .  1  -11  1  *       •        National 

colleges  of  which  mention  has  been  made.     Again,   cooperation 

in    1887,    Congress   made   appropriations   for   the  ^^^^  *^® 

establishment     of     the     agricultural     experiment 

stations,  which  are  conducted  cooperatively  by  the  state  and 

national    governments.     In    1914    the    Smith-Lever    Act    was 

passed   by   Congress,   making   appropriations   for   agricultural 


148  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

extension  work  to  be  conducted  by  the  state  agricultural  colleges 
with  the  cooperation  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture.  By 
the  terms  of  this  act  each  state  must  appropriate  a  sum  of 
money  for  the  extension  work  equal  to  that  received  from  the 
national  government. 

The  States  Relations  Service  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture 
supervises  ,and  administers  these  cooperative  relations  with 
the  states  under  the  terms  of  the  Smith-Lever  Act.     In  each 


U.   ^.    liOVERNMENT    EXPERIMENTAL    FaRM,    BeLTSVILLE,    Md. 

state  there  is  a  director  of  extension  work  who  represents  both 
the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  and  the  state 
agricultural  college.  Under  him  there  is  usually  a  state  agent 
or  leader,  district  agents,  county  agents,  and  specialists  of 
various  kinds.  The  county  agents  conduct  agricultural  demon- 
stration work  in  their  counties  and  assist  in  organizing  rural 
communities  for  cooperation.  Women  county  agents,  or  home 
demonstration  agents,  are  rapidly  being  installed  also,  to  con- 
duct extension  work  in  home  economics  and  organize  cooperation 
among  the  women. 

In  the  Southern  States  during  1915  about  110,000  farmers  carried  out 
demonstration  work  under  the  supervision  of  county  agents.  Each  such 
farm  demonstration  serves  as  an  object  lesson  for  the  entire  community. 


GOVERNMENT  AS   A  MEANS  OF  COOPERATION       149 


150  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

These  demonstrations  included  corn  raising  in  446,000  acres,  cotton  in 
202,000  acres,  tobacco  in  2630  acres,  small  grains  in  196,000  acres,  and  many 
other  products  in  hundreds  of  thousands  of  acres.  Stumps  were  removed 
from  more  than  70,000  acres,  220,000  acres  were  drained,  and  there  were 
29,000  demonstrations  in  home  gardens.  Si.xty-four  thousand  improved 
implements  were  bought.  Work  was  done  with  orchards  involving  more  than 
2,000,000  trees,  29,000  farmers  were  instructed  in  the  care  of  manure  with  an 
estimated  saving  of  more  than  3,000,000  tons.  Farmers  in  678  cooperative 
community  organizations  were  advised  with  regard  to  the  purchase  of  ferti- 
lizers with  a  saving  in  cost  of  $125,000.  One  thousand  sLx  hundred  fifty- 
four  community  organizations  were  formed  to  study  local  problems  and  to 
meet  local  business  needs.     Nearly  63,000  boys  were  enrolled  in  corn  clubs. 

There  were  also  in  the  Southern  States  368  counties  with  home  demon- 
stration agents,  who  gave  instruction  to  32,613  girls  and  6871  women. 
Each  of  the  girls  produced  a  one  tenth  acre  home  garden  of  tomatoes  and 
other  vegetables.  They  put  up  more  than  2,000,000  cans  of  fruit  and 
vegetables  worth  $300,000.  There  were  nearly  10,000  members  in  poultry 
clubs  and  3000  in  bread  clubs.  Two  hundred  fifty  women's  community 
clubs   were   formed. 

Similar  work  was  done  in  the  Northern  States,  where  209,000  boys  and 
girls  were  enrolled  in  club  work.  Nearly  25,000  of  these  were  engaged  in 
profit-making  enterprises  in  which  they  produced  food  worth  more  than 
$500,000.  Reports  from  3155  homes  show  546,515  quarts  of  fruits  and 
vegetables  canned,  about  half  of  which  consisted  of  vegetables,  windfall 
apples,  and  other  products  that  frequently  go  to  waste. 

How  much  money  does  your  state  receive  from  the  national  treasury 
under  the  terms  of  the  Smith-Lever  Act?  (Discuss  at  home,  consult  your 
county  agent.) 

Find  out  from  your  county  agent,  and  from  your  home  demonstration 
agent  (if  there  is  one),  what  their  work  includes  and  how  it  is  done.  Invite 
them  to  speak  to  your  school  on  the  subject. 

What  demonstration  work  is  being  carried  on  in  your  county  for  men 
and  women?     Results  achieved? 

With  the  help  of  your  county  agent,  make  a  map  of  your  county  showing 
the  distribution  of  his  demonstration  work. 

Report  on  boys'  and  girls'  club  work  in  your  county.  Describe  partic- 
ularly any  such  work  in  which  you  are  engaged. 

What  are  some  of  the  problems  in  regard  to  which  the  farmers  of  your 
community  need  help? 

Make  a  report  on  George  Washington  the  Farmer;  on  Thomas  Jef- 
ferson's contributions  to  agriculture. 


GOVERNMENT  AS   A   MEANS  OF   COOPERATION       151 

The  Office  of  Markets  and  Rural  Organization  promotes  the 
organization  of  rural  communities  for  cooperation  in  buying  and 
selling,  in  obtaining  rural  credits  and  insurance  (see  Chapter 
XIII),  in  developing  means  of  communication  (Chapter  XVIII), 
and  in  providing  for  social  needs.  It  investigates  markets  and 
methods  of  marketing,  and  transportation  and  storage  facilities. 


County  Agent  in  Consultation  with  Farmer 


It  seeks  to  establish  standards  for  grading  and  packing  fruits, 
vegetables,  and  other  products. 

The  Office  of  Farm  Management  investigates  and  promotes  the 
application  of  business  methods  to  farm  management  and  farm 
practice.  It  studies  the  cost  and  profitableness  of  producing 
particular  crops,  livestock,  and  dairy  products,  the  profitable 
use  of  the  woodlot,  the  most  economic  and  effective  farm  equip- 


152 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


ment.     It  investigates  the  cost  of  the  farmer's  living,  methods 
of  keeping  accounts,  the  methods  and  results  of  tenantry. 

The  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry  investigates  the  causes,  preven- 
tion, and  treatment  of  diseases  of  domestic  animals,  and  has 
done  much  to  eradicate  them.  It  studies  methods  of  dairying 
and  dairy  manufacturing,  of  breeding  and  feeding  livestock,  of 
producing  wool  and  other  animal  fibers,  of  poultry  raising.     It 


County  Agent  Giving  Club  lM)\h  a  Dlmo.\ miration  in  TiuiAT- 
iNG  Seed  Potatoes  for  Scab 

cooperates  with  the  States  Relations  Service  and  the  state 
agricultural  colleges  in  educational  work,  conducting  livestock 
demonstration  work  and  advising  with  regard  to  the  establish- 
ment and  management  of  creameries  and  cheese  factories.  It 
promotes  the  organization  of  pig  clubs  to  stimulate  interest  in 
swine  production. 

The  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry  investigates  the  causes,  pre- 
vention, and  treatment  of  plant  diseases,  including  those  of 
fruit,  shade,  and  forest  trees.  It  has  introduced  over  43,000 
varieties  of  foreign  seeds  and  plants,  from  which  many  new 
industries  have  grown  up  amounting  in  value  to  many  millions 


GOVERNMENT  AS  A   MEANS   OF   COOPERATION       1 53 

of  dollars  each  year.  Its  explorers  have  brought  new  varieties 
of  cereals  from  Russia  and  Siberia ;  alfalfas  from  Siberia ;  date 
palms  from  North  Africa,  Arabia,  and  Persia ;  the  pistache  nut 
from  Greece  and  Sicily ;  vanilla  and  peaches  from  Mexico ; 
barleys  and  hops  from  Europe ;  rices  and  matting  rushes  from 
Japan ;  forage  grasses  from  India ;  tropical  fruits  from  South 
America.  It  experiments  in  the  breeding  of  hardy  and  disease- 
resisting  grains,  fruits,  and  vegetables,  studies  soil  fertility, 
investigates  the  medicinal  qualities  of  plants,  tests  seeds,  and 
improves  agricultural  implements.  Its  experiments  are  con- 
ducted in  experimental  gardens  in  Washington,  D.  C,  at  Arling- 
ton, Va.,  and  at  the  experiment  stations  distributed  widely  over 
the  United  States. 

This  bureau  does  much  educational  work,  instructing 
farmers  how  to  control  plant  diseases  and  how  to  organize 
for  cooperation  in  the  breeding  of  disease-resisting  plants, 
and  conducting  demonstrations  on  reclaimed  lands  in  arid 
regions.  During  1916  it  distributed,  through  members  of 
Congress,  356,000  tulip  and  narcissus  bulbs,  96,000  strawberry 
plants  of  15  varieties,  14,000  packages  of  lawn  grass  seed, 
and  more  than  16,000,000  packages  of  vegetable  and  flower 
seeds. 

The  Bureau  of  Chemistry  studies  the  influence  of  environment 
on  crops  and  plants ;  investigates  the  quality  of  mill  products, 
the  methods  of  bread  making,  of  tanning  leather,  and  of  paper 
making.  It  tests  the  food  values  of  all  kinds  of  products,  the 
keeping  quality  of  poultry,  eggs,  and  fish  in  the  course  of  trans- 
portation, and  the  composition  of  drugs.  It  is  called  upon 
by  other  departments  of  government  to  make  chemical  analysis 
of  many  articles. 

The  Bureau  of  Soils  investigates  the  quality  of  soils  and  their 
adaptation  to  different  kinds  of  crops,  and  the  fertilizer  re- 
sources of  the  country. 

The  Bureau  of  Entomology  is  concerned  with  the  study  of  in- 


154 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


sects  and  their  relation  to  agriculture,  including  those  that  are 
destructive  to  fruit,  shade,  and  forest  trees.  Its  work  includes 
the  study  and  promotion  of  bee  culture.  It  has  carried  on  a 
campaign  for  the  eradication  of  such  diseases  as  spotted  fever, 
malaria,  and  typhoid  which  are  carried  by  ticks,  mosquitoes, 
flies,  and  other  insects  (see  Chapter  XX). 

The  Bureau  of  Biological  Survey  maintains  game,  mammal,  and 
bird  reservations,  including  among  others  the  Montana  National 


Club  Leader  GrviNG  a  Poultry  Demonstration 


Bison  Range,  the  winter  elk  refuge  in  Wyoming,  the  Sully's 
Hill  National  Game  Preserve  in  South  Dakota,  and  the  Aleutian 
Islands  Reservation  in  Alaska.  It  studies  the  food  habits  of 
North  American  birds  and  mammals  in  relation  to  agriculture, 
horticulture,  and  forestry,  and  the  habits,  geographical  dis- 
tribution, and  migrations  of  animals  and  plants.  It  conducts 
experiments  and  demonstrations  in  destroying  animals  harmful 
to  agriculture  and  animal  husbandry  and  in  connection  with 
rearing  fur-bearing  animals.  It  cooperates  with  local  authorities 
in  the  protection  of  migratory  birds. 

The  Bureau  of  Crop  Estimates  gathers  and  publishes  data 


GOVERNMENT  AS  A  MEANS  OF  COOPERATION      155 


regarding  agriculture,  and  particularly  estimates  relating  to 
crop  and  livestock  production. 

The  Weather  Bureau  is  in  charge  of  the  forecasting  of  the 
weather,  the  issuing  of  storm  warnings,  the  display  of  weather 
and  flood  signals  for  the  benefit  of  commerce,  agriculture,  and 
navigation  (see  Chapter  XVI). 

The  Forest  Service  has  in  its  keeping  the  great  national  forests 
(see  Chapter  XV). 


County  Agent  Showing  How  to  Seal  Cans 

The  Office  of  Public  Roads  and  Rural  Engineering  administers 
the  work  of  the  federal  government  for  road  improvement,  and 
studies  farm  engineering  problems  such  as  those  relating  to 
sanitation  and  water  supply  (see  Chapters  XVII  and  XX). 

The    Department    of    Agriculture    has  certain  Regulatory 
important    powers    of    regulation    and    control. 
Animals  are  inspected  at  market  centers  to  dis- 
cover the  presence  of  disease,  and  localities  in- 
fected are  quarantined. 


powers  of 
the  Depart- 
ment of 
Agricultxire 


156  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

In  191 5  more  than  15  million  sheep  were  inspected  and  nearly  4  million 
dipped  to  cure  scabies.  As  a  result  nearly  one  and  one  half  million  square 
miles  of  land  were  released  from  quarantine.  In  the  same  year  more  than  a 
million  square  miles  were  released  from  quarantine  against  scabies  in  cattle. 

In  quarantining  a  state,  or  portion  of  a  state,  the  Department 
acts  by  authority  of  laws  passed  by  Congress  under  its  power  to 
regulate  interstate  and  foreign  commerce  (Constitution,  Art.  I, 
sec.  8,  cl.  3).  By  the  same  authority,  all  cattle  for  export  and 
all  imported  from  foreign  countries  are  inspected  and  those 
diseased  excluded.  Slaughter  houses  and  meat-packing  es- 
tablishments where  meat  is  packed  for  interstate  or  foreign 
commerce  are  inspected;  meat  that  is  unfit  for  use  being 
condemned,  while  that  which  is  good  has  the  government 
stamp  placed  upon  it.  Such  measures  are  primarily  health 
measures  (see  Chapter  XX),  but  they  have  great  economic 
value. 

In  a  similar  manner  imported  seeds,  plants,  and  plant  products 
are  inspected  to  prevent  the  importation  of  plant  diseases  and 
plant  pests,  and  also  to  prevent  adulteration  of  plant  products. 
Warehouses  are  inspected  and  licenses  granted  to  those  that  are 
suitable  for  the  proper  storage  of  cotton,  grains,  tobacco,  flax- 
seed, and  wool.  The  Department  enforces  the  laws  that  fix  the 
standards  for  grading  cotton  and  grain,  and  licenses  grain 
inspectors.  It  also  enforces  the  Food  and  Drugs  Act  (see 
Chapter  XX).  ■ 

Topics  for  investigation : 

Difficulties  experienced  by  farmers  in  your  locality  in  marketing  produce 
or  livestock. 

Assistance  received  from  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture 
to  overcome  the  difficulties. 

Experiments  in  cooperative  marketing  in  your  locality. 

Products  of  your  locality  that  require  storage  facilities.  Adequacy  of 
storage  facilities. 

Transportation  needs  of  your  locality.  Improvements  in  transportation 
facilities  in  recent  years. 


GOVERNMENT  AS  A  MEANS  OF  COOPERATION      157 


Consult  your  county  agent,  or  write  to  the  Office  of  Farm  Management, 
for  publications  relating  to  farm  management,  farm  accounting,  etc. 

Discuss  with  farmers  of  your  acquaintance  the  extent  to  which  they 
find  farm  accounts  and  farm  records  useful. 

Diseases  of  livestock  prevalent  in  your  locality  and  state.  Experiments 
in  cooperation  to  eradicate  these  diseases.  Assistance  received  from  the 
Department  of  Agriculture. 


EXI'LORERS   OF    TUE    UNITED    STATES    DEPARTMENT    OF    ACRICUXTURE 

IN  Central  Asia 


158  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

Crops  of  foreign  origin  raised  in  your  locality.  Countries  from  which 
introduced. 

Destructive  plant  diseases  and  plant  pests  of  your  locality.  Efforts  to 
combat  them. 

Importance  of  bird  migrations  to  the  farmers  of  your  locality.  Extent 
of  protection  afforded  birds.     How  you  cooperate  in  this  matter. 

Importance  of  these  various  farmers'  problems  to  the  people  in 
town  —  the  housekeeper,  the  merchant,  the  manufacturer,  the  railroad 
companies. 

Cases  of  animal  quarantine  occurring  in  your  locality. 

Why  warehouses  for  food  products,  cotton,  etc.,  should  be  licensed. 
What  "licensing"  means. 

How  grain,  cotton,  or  other  products  are  "graded."  The  reason  for 
grading.     Why  there  needs  to  be  a  law  on  the  subject. 

While  the  business  interests  of  the  farmer,  and  indeed  many 
of  his  other  interests,  such  as  health,  education,  and  social  Hfe, 
are  especially  looked  after  by  the  Department  of 
other  depart-    Agriculture,  he  shares  with  all  other  citizens  the 
ments  of  services  of  all  the  other  departments  of  govern- 

ment, each  of  which  also  has  its  elaborate  organi- 
zation (see  Chapter  XXVII).  It  is  the  Treasury  Department, 
for  example,  acting  under  authority  given  to  it  by  Congress, 
that  provides  the  people  with  their  system  of  money  and 
with  a  banking  system,  both  of  which  are  great  coopera- 
tive devices.  The  Department  of  Commerce  serves  the 
farmer  directly  by  discovering  markets  for  his  products  in  every 
part  of  the  world,  and  indirectly  by  everything  it  does  to  promote 
the  country's  commerce.  The  rural  mail  delivery,  the  parcel 
post,  and  the  motor  truck  service  of  the  Post  Office  Department 
are  of  untold  value  to  the  farmer  (see  Chapter  XVIII).  The 
Department  of  the  Interior  has  supervision  over  the  public 
lands,  the  reclamation  of  arid  lands,  and  the  development  of 
mineral  resources  (Chapters  XIV,  XV). 

^.  ^  The  question  of  labor  supply  is  one  of  the  most 

of  labor  serious  questions  which  the  farmer  has  to  face.     It 

supply  jg  ^j^g  ^^^^  YiQ  must  help  to  solve  for  himself : 


GOVERNMENT  AS  A  MEANS  OF  COOPERATION       159 


As  soon  as  work  on  the  farms  is  organized,  and  employment  is  made 
steady  for  all  help,  just  so  soon  will  a  better  class  of  laborers  be  attracted 
to  the  farm.  As  the  farm-owner  wishes  life  to  be  free  from  eternal 
drudgery  for  himself  and  family,  yielding  the  fruits  of  happiness,  leisure, 
and  culture,  he  would  do  well  to  consent  and  arrange  to  give  the  farm  hand 
who  shares  the  shelter  of  his  roof  a  fair  chance  at  the  same  benefits.  The 
laborer  wants  regular  hours,  a  chance  for  recreation,  a  good  place  to  live 
in,  and  enough  wages  to  maintain  a  family  according  to  American 
standards.  ^ 


A  Load  of  Seeds  in  China  Starting  for  America 

But  there  are  aspects  of  the  labor  problem  over  which  the 
farmer  by  his  own  unaided  efforts  can  have  little  control.  One 
of  these  is  the  problem  of  bringing  the  laborer  and  the  job  to- 
gether (see  Chapter  XI,  p.  133).  The  work  of  the  Employ- 
ment Service  in  the  Department  of  Labor  during  the  recent 
war  affords  a  striking  illustration  of  cooperation  secured  through 
an  agency  of  government. 

1  W.  J.  Dougan  and  M.  W.  Leiserson  in  "  Rural  Social  Problems,"  Fourth  Annual 
Report  Wisconsin  Country  Life  Conference,  quoted  in  Nourse,  Agricultural  Eco- 
nomics, pp.  258-260. 


l6o  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

The  Employment  Service  had  been  created  in  19 14,  but  was  rapidly 
developed  during  the  war  to  meet  the  demand  for  farm  labor  to  provide  a 
food  supply  adequate  to  war  needs.     The  main  offices  of 
The  United        the   Employment   Service   were   with   the   Department   of 
States  Labor    in    "Washington.     But    each    state    had    a    federal 

Service  director  of  employment,  and  branch  offices  were  established 

in  local  communities.  The  success  of  the  whole  scheme 
depended,  first  of  all,  upon  cooperation  between  national,  state,  and  local 
governments. 

Thousands  of  county  agents  and  local  rural  community  organizations 
discovered  and  reported  local  needs  to  local  employment  offices,  which  in 
turn  distributed  the  information  by  means  of  the  district,  state,  and  national 
organization.  Fifty-five  thousand  post-offices  became  farm-labor  employ- 
ment agencies,  postmasters  and  rural  carriers  acting  as  agents.  Railroads 
cooperated  both  in  reporting  needs  for  the  districts  through  which  they 
run  and  in  distributing  labor  to  the  points  where  needed.  Newspaper  offices 
served  as  employment  bureaus.  The  operators  of  nearly  8000  rural  tele- 
phone companies  weekly  called  up  the  homes  of  two  million  farmers  to  in- 
quire as  to  needs.  State  and  county  councils  of  defense,  chambers  of 
commerce,  labor  unions,  farmers'  organizations,  and  other  volunteer  agencies 
afforded  channels  through  which  the  farmer  and  the  laborer  were  brought 
together. 

From  January  to  the  end  of  October,  1918,  approximately  2,500,000 
workers  were  directed  to  employment  (not  all  farm  workers).  In  that  year 
the  enormous  wheat  crop  of  the  western  states  was  entirely  harvested  by 
labor  forces  organized  and  moving  northward  as  the  harvest  ripened. 
"Team  work  between  the  county  agricultural  agents  and  farm-help 
specialists  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and  the  harvest  emergency 
force  of  the  United  States  Employment  Service  is  considered  largely  respon- 
sible for  the  excellent  results."  In  a  similar  manner  assistance  was  given 
in  harvesting  the  corn  and  cotton  crops,  the  fruits-  of  orchards  and  vine- 
yards, and  the  vegetable  crops  of  the  country. 

The  Boys'  Working  Reserve  constituted  one  division  of  the  Employment 
Service.  In  1918,  210,000  boys  between  the  ages  of  16  and  20  were  enrolled 
for  work  on  the  farms  during  the  summer.  The  Reserve  was  responsible 
in  191 7  and  19 18  for  saving  millions  of  dollars  worth  of  crops.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  in  19 18  it  raised  enough  food  to  feed  a  million  soldiers  for  one 
year. 

With  the  passing  of  the  war  emergency,  the  elaborate  ma- 
chinery of  the  Employment  Service  was  in  large  measure  allowed 


GOVERNMENT   AS   A  MEANS  OF   COOPERATION       l6l 

to  fall  to  pieces  through  lack  of  appropriations  for  its  mainte- 
nance.    This  is  true  of  much  of   the- emergency  organization 
of  government  developed  during  the  war  period.   Employment 
It    illustrates    the    tendency    in   our   country    to  service  in 
leave  business  control  as  fully  as  possible  to  in-  ^®**^®    "® 
dividual  initiative  excepting  in  times  of  great  emergency.     So 
important  is  the  problem  of  bringing  the  worker  and  the  job 
together   that   many   believe    that    the    Employment    Service 
organization  should  be  revived  and  continued. 

The  central  office  at  Washington  is  still  maintained.  In  most  states 
there  are  still  (19 19)  state  directors.  The  local  machinery  has  been  largely 
discontinued  except  in  cities  where  volunteer  agencies,  such  as  the  Red 
Cross  and  other  welfare  organizations,  have  taken  over  the  work,  chiefly  to 
find  employment  for  discharged  soldiers  and  sailors.  A  few  states  have 
made  appropriations  to  continue  the  Boys'  Working  Reserve. 

One  division  of  the  Employment  Service  is  the  Junior  Sec- 
tion, for  the  guidance  of  boys  and  girls  from  16  to  21  years  of 
age   seeking   employment.     Local  junior   sections  National 
were  organized  as  branches  of  local  employment  vocational 
oflEices  and  in  schools.     A  "junior  counselor"  was  ^* 
placed  in  charge  of  each  local  junior  section  to  study  the  needs 
and  qualifications  of  those  who  applied  for  employment,  and 
to  give  them  advice.     The  Junior  Section  is  still  maintained 
with  a  director  in  the  Washington  office.     The  duties  of  the 
junior  counselor  are  stated  as  follows : 

To  influence  boys  and  girls  to  remain  in  school  as  long  as  possible. 

To  give  aid  toward  the  right  start  for  those  who  have  to  leave  school  to  go 
to  work. 

To  arouse  the  ambitions  of  the  boys  and  girls  to  fit  themselves  for  definite 
careers. 

To  direct  youth  who  are  employed  toward  some  form  of  trade,  technical, 
or  business  school  for  special  training. 

To  promote  the  opportunities  for  vocational  education. 

To  follow  up  aU  applicants  in  their  training  and  at  their  work  to  see  that 
they  have  the  best  available  advantages  of  study  and  labor. 


^m    >li   '    flpr  ^  l«iJsiiK»aBrT—  j^ 


Field  Laboratories 

U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 
162 


GOVERNMENT  AS  A   MEANS   OF  COOPERATION      1 63 

The  array  of  facts  contained  in  the  foregoing  paragraphs  is 
given,  not  with  the  expectation  that  those  who  read  will 
memorize  them,  but  to  suggest  the  enormous  q 
amount  of  work  that  the  United  States  govern-  always  at 
ment  is  doing  in  the  interest  of  agriculture  and  the  ^""^  service 
farmer,  and  the  extensive  machinery  necessary  to  do  it.  The 
facts  given  are  only  a  few  of  those  that  might  be  given.  The 
detailed  story  of  how  much  of  this  work  is  done  is  fascinating, 
and  often  of  thrilling  interest.  All  around  us  may  be  seen,  if 
our  eyes  are  open,  the  evidences  of  the  work  of  our  government. 
Always  the  governmental  machinery  is  at  hand  to  serve  us  in 
a  thousand  ways,  if  we  are  wise  enough  to  use  it.  The  more 
we  study  its  work,  the  more  we  shall  be  impressed  by  the  fact 
that  its  greatest  service  is  in  opening  the  way  for  cooperation, 
and  in  providing  the  organization  and  the  leadership  for  such 
cooperation. 

Topics  for  investigation : 

How  money  serves  as  a  means  of  cooperation. 

How  a  bank  serves  as  a  means  of  cooperation. 

The  attractiveness  of  the  conditions  of  Uving  for  farm  laborers  in  your 
community.     How  they  could  be  improved. 

The  farm  labor  supply  in  your  locality  and  state. 

The  work  of  the  United  States  Employment  Service  in  your  state  and 
community. 

Employment  agencies  in  your  community  at  the  present  time.  By 
whom  conducted.  Are  they  free,  or  run  for  profit?  Advantages  and  dis- 
advantages of  the  two  kinds. 

Harvesting  the  wheat  crop  in  war  time. 

The  Boys'  Working  Reserve  in  your  locality.  The  experience  of  the 
farmers  of  your  locality  as  to  its  value.  Possible  objections  raised  to  it. 
Its  continuance  since  the  war. 

The  Junior  Section  of  the  Employment  Service. 

Junior  counselors  in  your  community. 

READINGS 

Procure  from  the  State  Department  of  Agriculture,  the  State  Agricultural  College, 
and  the  State  Experiment  Station,  publications  relating  to  their  work. 


l64  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Send  to  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  for  its  List  of  Publications  Available 
for  Distribution;  or  for  publications  relating  to  particular  topics.  Among  the 
useful  publications  of  the  Department  are : 

Farmers'  Bulletins  (covering  a  wide  variety  of  subjects). 

States  Relations  Service  Circulars. 

The  Year  Book. 

Annual  Reports  of  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture. 

Program  of  Work  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  (1917  or  later  years). 

Report  on  Agricultural  Experiment  Stations  and  Cooperative  Agricultural  Ex- 
tension Work  (191 5  or  later  years). 

A  very  useful  publication  is  the  "Guide  to  United  States  Government  Publica- 
tions," pubHshed  by  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education  as  Bulletin,  1918,  No.  2.  It 
not  only  describes  the  pubhcations  of  each  department  of  government,  but  also  the 
organization  and  work  of  each  department  and  its  subdivisions.  (Government 
Printing  Office,  20?'.) 

More  recent  and  equally  useful  is  "The  Federal  Executive  Departments  as 
Sources  of  Information  for  Libraries,"  also  published  by  the  Bureau  of  Education, 
Bulletin,  1919,  No.  74  (Government  Printing  Office,  25?').     The  work  of  each  De- 
partment and  its  subdivisions  is  described  in  some  detail. 
In  Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 

Series  B  :   Lesson  30,  Employment  agencies. 

Series  C:   Lesson  12,  Patents  and  inventions. 

Lesson  13,  Market  reports  on  fruits  and  vegetables. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
THRIFT 

"  Thrift  is  good  management  of  the  business  of  living." 

This   definition  is   taken   from   "Ten   Lessons  in  Thrift," 
issued   by   the   Treasury   Department   of   the   United   States 
Government      (February,      1919).     The     United  National 
States  Government  sent  out  these  lessons  because  importance 
"America  to-day  stands  in  the  position  in  which  all 
her  economic  problems  must  be  solved  through  thrift.  .  .  . 
Unless  our  people  gain  a  deep,  sincere  appreciation  of  the 
absolute  necessity  for  thrift,  we  cannot  hope  to  hold  the  proud 
position  we  occupy  as  the  flag  bearer  of  nations.  .  .  ."  ^ 

The  great  war  taught  us  some  lessons  about  the  importance 
of  thrift  to  the  nation.  The  enormous  expenses  of  the  war 
were  paid  and  the  armies  and  the  civilian  popula-  Lessons  of 
tions  of  the  countries  at  war  were  fed  very  largely  *^®  "^^^ 
by  the  combined  small  savings  of  our  people.  Nearly  20  million 
people  contributed  to  the  fourth  liberty  loan,  by  which  almost 
seven  billion  dollars  were  raised,  an  average  of  about  $350  for 
each  contributor.  Almost  every  one  bought  war  savings 
stamps,  by  which  about  a  billion  dollars  were  raised  in  1918. 
Practically  all  this  money  came  from  savings.  Enormous  sums 
were  also  given  to  the  Red  Cross  and  other  causes.  To  do  this 
people  saved  and  sacrificed  "until  it  hurt."  The  provisioning 
of  our  armies  and  of  the  needy  peoples  of  Europe  was  made 
possible  by  the  saving,  in  American  homes,  of  slices  of  bread, 
of  teaspoonfuls  of  sugar,  of  small  portions  of  meat  and  fats. 

1  S.  W.  Strauss,  President  American  Society  for  Thrift,  in  "The  Patriotism  of 
War  Savings"  (National  Education  Association  pamphlet,  Thrift,  1918). 

i6s 


i66 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


Thrift,  however,  is  not  merely  a  war  necessity.  "The  time 
when  thrift  shall  not  be  needed  —  needed  as  vitally  as  food 
Thrift  as  itself  —  will    never    come.  .  .  .     Through    thrift 

patriotism  alone  can  the  rebuilding  come  —  the  rebuilding  of 
America  —  the  rebuilding  of  the  world.  .  .  .  Thrift  is  patriot- 
ism because  it  is  the  elimination  of  every  element  that  tends 
to  retard.  .  .  ."  ^ 

Thrift  is  necessary  both  for  individual  success  and  for  good 
citizenship.     It  is  only  by  thrift  that  the  individual  may  in 


Billboard  at  Trenton,  N.  J. 

some  measure  repay  others  for  the  care  he  himself  received 
during  dependent  childhood,  and  provide,  during  his  productive 
years,  for  the  "rainy  day"  of  sickness  and  old  age.  It  is  by 
thrift  that  capital  is  accumulated  with  which  to  carry  on  the 
world's  work  (see  p.  i8i).  The  citizen  who  saves  and  invests 
his  savings  in  a  home,  in  business  enterprises,  in  bonds  or  savings 
stamps,  not  only  makes  his  own  future  secure,  but  becomes 
identified  with  the  community  and  takes  a  greater  interest  in  it 
(see  p.  1 1 8).  The  thrifty  citizen  inspires  the  confidence  of 
the  community,  and  acquires  an  influence  in  community  affairs 

»  S.  W.  Strauss,  "The  Patriotism  of  War  Savings." 


THRIFT  "  167 

that  the  unthrifty  citizen  does  not  enjoy.  Finnish  farmers  in  a 
certain  section  of  New  England  are  said  to  be  able  to  obtain 
credit  from  neighboring  bankers  and  business  men  more  easily 
than  many  of  their  neighbors,  and  to  be  considered  as  especially 
desirable  citizens,  because  of  their  reputation  for  thrift  and 
honesty.  Thrift  is  often  confused  with  stinginess  and  selfish- 
ness. On  the  contrary  it  alone  makes  generosity  and  service 
possible. 

"Thrift  is  the  very  essence  of  democracy."     For  democracy 
means  freedom,  equality  of  opportunity,  "self-determination." 
No  man  is  a  greater  slave  than  one  who  is  bound   thrift  the 
and  driven  by  financial  necessity.     By  thrift  the   "  essence  of 
mind  is  "unfettered  by  the  petty  annoyances  that     ®°^°<^''^<^y 
result  from  improvident  ways."     Thrift  means  providing  for 
the  future.     There  is  nothing  in  the  world  that  will  so  establish 
one's  faith  in  the  future  and  that  will,  therefore,  give  that  free- 
dom of  spirit  upon  which  democracy  depends,  as  the  wise  use 
of  to-day  and  of  to-day's  resources. 

"Every  man  must  practice  thrift  and  every  man  must  have 
the  chance  of  practicing  it."     It  is  a  right  as  well  as  a  duty. 
Before  the  war  it  was  said  that  four  fifths  of  the   ^j^^^^  ^  ^^^it 
wage   earners  of    our   country  received  less  than  as  well  as 
$750  a  year  for  their  labor.     Studies  in  various  ^   "^ 
cities  also  showed  that  an  average  family  of   five  could  not 
maintain  health  and  efl5ciency  on  an  income  of  less  than  from 
$750  to  $1000.    Under  such  circumstances  thrift  is  the  strictest 
necessity,  but  it  is  a  thrift  that  means  pinching  economy  and  the 
sacrifice  of  health  and  efficiency.   It  is  not  the  thrift  that  provides 
for  the  future  and  gives  freedom  to  the  individual,  the  thrift  that 
is  "  the  essence  of  democracy  itself."   Every  man  should  have  an 
opportunity  to  earn  a  "living  wage,"  which  includes  an  oppor- 
tunity to  provide  for  the  future.     Democracy  is  not  complete 
until  that  opportunity  is  afforded. 

Thrift,  or  the  good  management  of  the  business  of  living, 


1 68  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

is  shown  (i)  in  earning,  (2)  in  spending,  (3)  in  saving,  and  (4)  in 
investing. 

(i)  Since  the  earning  of  a  Hving  was  the  subject  of  Chapter 
XI,  we  need  not  dwell  upon  it  now  except  to  note  that  a  thrifty 
Thrift  in  person  is  an  industrious  person  —  he  makes  wise 

earning  ^xse  of  his  time  ;  and  also  to  note  that  many  of  those 

who  are  now  in  want,  or  who,  in  advanced  years,  are  receiving 
small  wages,  owe  their  condition  to  a  failure  at  some  time  or 
other  to  make  use  of  the  opportunity  for  thrift.  Many  people 
do  not  recognize  the  opportunity  when  it  is  presented,  or  lack 
the  wisdom  or  the  courage  to  seize  it.  Thrift  involves  making  / 
a  choice,  and  in  many  cases  a  wise  choice  requires  courage  as 
well  as  wisdom.  It  is  a  choice  between  the  satisfaction  of 
present  wants  and  the  sacrifice  of  present  enjoyment  for  the 
sake  of  greater  satisfaction  and  service  in  the  future. 

When  a  boy  in  school  has  a  chance  to  take  a  job  that  will 
pay  him  wages,  he  has  to  make  a  choice  between  it  and  remain- 
ing in  school.  It  may  seem  to  be  the  thrifty  thing  to  go  to  work ; 
but  real  thrift  is  shown  by  careful  choice  of  vocation,  and  by 
thorough  preparation  for  it,  even  though  it  requires  sacrifices 
that  seem  difficult  (see  pp.  137,  139). 

We  may  note  here,  also,  that  physical  fitness  is  essential  if 
earning  power,  which  means  power  to  perform  service,  is  to  be 
fully  developed.  The  "conservation"  of  health  and  life  is  so 
important  that  a  chapter  is  devoted  to  it  later  (Chapter  XX). 

(2)  After  money  has  been  earned,  thrift  shows  itself  first 
of  all  in  the  way  the  money  is  spent ;  and  many  of  us  have  the 
Thrift  in  spending  of  the  money  that  some  one  else  has 

spending  earned.     Every  time  we  spend  a  nickel  or  a  dollar 

we  make  a  choice  —  we  choose  to  spend  or  not  to  spend,  how 
much  we  shall  spend,  for  what  we  shall  spend. 

A  lawyer  in  a  small  town  reports  that  in  one  month  he  made 
out  the  necessary  papers  to  enable  75  men  to  mortgage  their 
homes  to  buy  automobiles. 


THRIFT 


169 


&5^-j3*V..v        .4         ^ 


An  Unsightly  Vacant  City  Lot  Made  Profitable  and 
Beautiful 


170 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


Butchers  say  that  during  the  war  they  more  often  sold  expen- 
sive cuts  of  meat  to  wage  earners  who  were  by  no  means  well- 
to-do,  but  who  happened  for  the  time  to  be  getting  good  wages, 
than  to  people  of  larger  means.  One  reason,  perhaps,  for 
extravagance  in  food  and  clothing  on  the  part  of  unintelHgent 
people  who  find  themselves  unusually  prosperous,  is  that  they 


United  States  Treasury  Building,  Washington,  D.  C. 

see  no  better  way  to  spend  their  money.  Those  who  find 
pleasure  in  books,  in  education  for  their  children,  in  travel,  in 
investing  money  in  serviceable  enterprises,  and  in  the  higher 
things  of  life,  have  to  make  a  choice  in  regard  to  what  they 
shall  enjoy,  and  as  a  rule  prefer  to  sacrifice  the  grosser  pleasures. 
People,  and  especially  young  people,  need  a  certain  amount  of 
Choosing  sweets  in  their  diet.     But  when  we  know   that 

what  to  spend  the  candy  bill  of  the  people  of  the  United  States 
amounts  to  $400,000,000  a  year,  that  this  is  almost  as  much 


THRIFT 


171 


The  Woolworth  Bthlding,  New  York  City 

The  tallest  building,  and  one  of  the  most  beautiful,  in  the  United  States.     It  was 
built  by  a  man  whose  fortune  was  made  from  the  profits  of  "5  and  10  cent  stores." 

as  the  total  amount  spent  for  public  education,  that  it  is 
about  double  the  amount  used  to  keep  Belgium  supplied  with 
food  for  a  year  during  the  war^  or  that  it  will  buy  234  million 


172  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

bushels  of  corn  at  Si. 70  a  bushel,   we  may  well   think  twice 
before  deciding  to  spend  much  money  for  candy. 

The  few  cents  difference  in  the  price  of  two  articles  between 
which  we  must  choose,  and  the  nickels  we  spend  for  immediate 
enjoyment,  may  seem  to  amount  to  very  little;  but  the  New 
York  City  street  railways  collected  in  a  year  $95,000,000  in 
five-cent  fares,  and  the  Woolworth  Building  in  New  York,  one 
of  the  largest  office  buildings  in  the  United  States,  was  built 
from  the  profits  of  "5  and  10  Cent  Stores."  One  thrift  stamp 
a  week  amounts  in  five  years  to  $65,  and  14  cents  a  day  at  4 
per  cent  interest  amounts  in  twenty  years  to  more  than  $1500. 
Tests  for  In   one   of   the   "Ten   Lesson   in   Thrift,"    the 

spending  following  "tests  in  buying"  are  given: 

Do  I  need  it? 

Do  I  need  it  now? 

Do  I  need  something  else  more? 

Will  it  pay  for  itself  in  the  end  ? 

Do  I  help  or  injure  the  community  in  buying  this? 

Do  you  have  instruction  in  your  school  in  home  economics  that  relates 
to  wise  spending  or  buying? 

If  you  do  not  have  such  instruction,  apply  to  the  home  demonstration 
agent  in  your  county  (if  there  is  one),  or  write  to  your  state  agricultural 
college,  or  to  the  States  Relations  Service,  Department  of  Agriculture, 
Washington,  D.C.,  for  circulars  or  bulletins  relating  to  thrift  in  buying 
food,  clothing,  etc. 

In  writing  for  such  material,  why  is  it  an  example  of  thrift  to  ask  for 
one  copy  of  each  publication  for  your  class  or  for  your  school,  rather  than 
to  ask  for  a  copy  for  each  pupil? 

In  what  ways  is  thrift  shown  by  having  a  class  committee  write  one 
letter  making  the  request  for  the  class  instead  of  having  each  member  of  the 
class  write? 

Has  any  home  demonstration  work  relating  to  thrift  been  conducted  in 
your  community?  What  methods  were  employed,  and  what  results 
achieved  ? 

Who  in  your  family  makes  most  of  the  expenditures  for  the  family 
living? 


THRIFT  173 

For  what  items  in  the  family  living  is  most  of  the  monc}'  spent  ? 

What  are  some  of  the  things  that  have  to  be  considered  in  buying  food? 
clothing?  house  furnishings?  books?  amusements? 

Discuss  the  topics  mentioned  in  the  following  statement  of  "values  in 
buying"  (from  "Ten  Lessons  in  Thrift")  : 

Food :  nutrition,  healthfulness,  cleanliness,  attractiveness,  flavor,  qual- 
ity, price,  economy  in  preparation  (of  time,  strength,  fuel,  utensils),  buy- 
ing from  bulk  or  in  package,  bujdng  in  quantity  or  small  unit,  buying  for 
the  day  or  laying  in  stores,  calculation  of  portions,  calculation  of  meals, 
varied  diet. 

Clothing :  design  related  to  material,  color,  and  becomingness ;  style, 
durability;  adaptability  to  fine  or  rough  wear,  to  repair  and  remaking; 
suitability  to  season,  health,  occupation,  comfort ;  home-made  versus 
ready-made ;  conditions  of  manufacture,  use  of  child  labor,  the  sweat 
shop,  the  living  wage,  health. 

Make  a  study  at  the  grocery  of  the  relative  prices  of  articles  bought  in 
small  and  large  quantities :  for  example,  laundry  soap  by  the  bar,  by  the 
quarter's  worth,  by  the  box ;  canned  goods  by  the  can,  by  the  dozen,  and 
by  the  case ;  flour  by  the  pound,  by  the  2S-pound  sack,  50-pound  sack,  by  the 
barrel ;  etc. 

Make  a  study  of  the  relative  prices  of  articles  in  bulk  and  in  package; 
for  e.xample,  vinegar  by  the  bottle  and  by  the  gallon ;  bacon  in  bulk  and  in 
jars,  etc. 

Why  may  it  be  economy  to  buy  some  food  articles  in  packages  rather 
than  in  bulk,  even  at  a  higher  price?     Give  examples. 

Which  is  likely  to  be  more  economical,  to  buy  groceries  by  tele- 
phone or  in  person?  To  buy  by  mail  order  or  at  the  store  in  town? 
Why? 

At  Christmas  time  the  Park  View  community  center  in  Washington, 
D.C.,  ordered  140  turkeys  from  a  rural  neighborhood  center  in  Maryland. 
The  turkeys  were  brought  by  the  producers  to  the  schoolhouse  of  the  rural 
neighborhood,  taken  by  a  postal  service  motor-truck  to  the  schoolhouse  of 
the  Park  View  center  in  Washington,  and  from  there  distributed  to  the 
140  families.  The  city  buyers  paid  an  average  of  15  cents  a  pound 
less  than  the  price  prevailing  in  the  Washington  markets,  and  the  pro- 
ducers received  6  cents  a  pound  more  than  the  Washington  markets  were 
paying. 

Why  was  there  a  saving  to  both  producer  and  consumer  in  the  above 
case?     What  costs  of  marketing  were  cut  out  or  reduced? 

What  is  the  "middleman"?  Does  he  perform  a  real  service  to  the 
community?     Should  he  be  paid  for  his  service?    Why?    Is  it  just  that 


174  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

the  middleman  should  be  "eliminated"  by  cooperative  marketing  and 
buying  organizations?     Why? 

Is  there  any  cooperative  buying  organization  in  your  community?  If 
so,  how  has  it  benefited  the  community?  If  not,  why?  (Consult  your 
parents,  your  county  agent,  and  others.) 

Get  publications  from  your  state  agricultural  college  relating  to  co- 
operative buying  and  selling. 

Wise  expenditures  depend  not  only  upon  knowledge  of  prices 
and  qualities,  but  also  upon  good  management,  as  in  planning 
Thrift  in  ahead.     One  plan  that  has  been  the  means  of  lifting 

management  many  individuals  and  families  out  of  financial 
difficulties  and  of  enabling  them  to  lay  by  as  savings  a  portion 
of  their  income,  however  small  the  latter  may  be,  is  the  budget, 
which  means  the  apportionment  of  expenditures  according  to  a 
plan  laid  out  in  advance.  No  budget  can  apply  to  all  families 
alike,  but  the  following  illustrates  the  principle : 

House,  (rent,  taxes,  insurance,  repairs)        25% 

Food  (all  expenditures  for  the  table,  ice,  etc.) 30% 

Clothing    (materials    and    making,    repairing,    cleaning,    pressing, 

millinery,  shoes) 13% 

Housekeeping  (labor  and  materials  for  laundry,  fuel  and  light,  tele- 
phone, supplies,  and  furnishings)    12% 

Educational  (school  and  school  books,  club  dues,  church  and  charity 
contributions,  gifts,  books,  magazines,  newspapers,  amusements, 
medical  and  dental  treatment) 6% 

Luxuries  (all  items  not  necessaries  and  not  coming  under  "educa- 
tional," such  as  candies,  etc.) 4% 

Savings 10% 

Total 100% 

Before  a  budget  can  be  planned,  and  in  order  to  know 
whether  it  is  being  lived  up  to,  it  is  necessary  to  keep  accounts 
of  receipts  and  expenditures.  With  such  accounts,  it  is  pos- 
sible to  determine  where  savings  can  be  made  under  some 
heads  and  where,  perhaps,  it  is  necessary  or  advisable  to 
spend  more. 


THRIFT 


175 


Seven  Steps  toward  Saving  ^ 


A 

100% 
Home 

7th  Step 

Ana'yze 
Accounts 

6th  Step 

Adopt 
Accurate  Accounts 

Sth  Step 

Build  a  Budget 

^ 

l-th  Step 

Make  Practice 
Follow  Precept 

2d  St 

3d  Step 

Estimate  Expenses 

ep 

Consider  Cost 

I  St  Step 

Know  Needs 

Is  a  budget  used  in  your  home?  Find  out  from  your  parents  their 
reason  for  using,  or  not  using  it. 

Could  you  use  a  budget  in  your  own  personal  affairs? 

Find  out  whether  a  budget  system  is  used  by  your  local  government 
and  your  state  government  in  apportioning  expenditures. 

How  may  we  "budget"  our  time?  Is  the  time  you  spend  in  school 
"budgeted"?     Make  a  daily  time  budget  for  yourself. 

When  is  clothing  a  necessity  and  when  a  luxury  ?  ^ 

When  is  food  a  necessity  and  when  an  amusement? 

When  is  amusement  education  and  when  a  frivolity? 

When  is  fuel  an  item  in  rent  and  when  current  housekeeping  expense? 

When  are  club  dues  education  and  when  amusement? 

WTien  is  vacation  health  and  when  amusement  ? 

When  is  the  theater  amusement  and  when  indulgence? 

When  is  rent  a  necessity  and  when  an  extravagance? 


1  From  "Suggestions  for  Home  Demonstration  Agents  regarding  Methods  of 
Teaching  Thrift,"  States  Relations  Service  Circular,  Dec.  27,  1918. 

2  This  and  the  following  topics  are  adapted  from  "Ten  Lessons  in  Thrift." 


176  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

(3)  The  object  of  thrift  in  spending  is  both  to  get  the  greatest 
value  for  our  money  now  and  to  insure  savings  that  will  provide 
Thrift  in  ^^^   the  future.     Every   budget   should   make   as 

saving  definite  provision  for  savings  as  for  rent  or  clothing. 

The  purpose  of  a  budget  and  of  accounts  is  to  assure  a  surplus 
rather  than  a  deficit.  Successful  men  and  women  make  it  a 
practice  always  to  spend  less  than  they  earn,  no  matter  how 
little  they  earn,  and  they  cannot  be  sure  of  this  without  planning 
ahead  and  keeping  accounts.  Saving  in  this  way  is  largely  a 
matter  of  habit ;  but  it  is  astonishing  how  many  fail  to  form  the 
habit.  Court  records  show  that  out  of  every  100  men  who  die, 
82  leave  no  income-producing  estates,  or  that  about  85  per  cent 
who  reach  the  age  of  65  are  dependent  upon  relatives  or  upon 
the  community.  "Out  of  every  100  widows,  only  18  are  left 
in  comfortable  circumstances,  while  47  are  obliged  to  go  to  work 
and  35  are  left  in  absolute  want."  ^ 

Wise  buying  means  saving  money ;  and  so  does  the  wise  use 
of  what  we  buy.  It  is  said  that  an  American  ship  can  be  dis- 
American  tinguished  from  the  ships  of  other  nations  in  harbor 

extravagance  by  the  flocks  of  guUs  that  hover  around  to  feast  on 
the  food  thrown  overboard.  Whether  this  is  true  or  not, 
Americans  have  a  reputation  for  wastefulness.  It  has  been 
called  our  chief  national  sin.  It  is  said  that  a  family  in  France 
can  live  in  comfort  on  what  an  American  family  in  the  same 
circumstances  ordinarily  throws  away.  An  average  load  of 
garbage  in  New  York  City  has  been  shown  to  contain  fifty 
dollars'  worth  of  good  food  materials.  Investigations  by  the 
Food  Administration  showed  that  there  is  enough  glycerine  in  a 
ton  of  garbage  to  make  explosives  for  14  shells,  enough  fat  and 
acid  to  make  75  bars  of  soap,  and  enough  fertilizer  to  grow  8 
bushels  of  wheat.  It  is  said  that  24  cities  wasted  enough  garbage 
to  make  4  million  pounds  of  nitroglycerine,  40  million  cakes  of 

1  S.  W.  Strauss,  "The  Greater  Thrift,"  National  Education  Association  Proceed- 
ings, 1916,  p.  278. 


THRIFT 


177 


soap,  and  fertilizer  for  3  million  bushels  of  wheat.  On  the 
other  hand  300  cities  produced  52  million  pounds  of  pork  by 
feeding  their  garbage  to  hogs. 

The  Department  of  Agriculture  has  shown  that  the  waste  of 
a  half-cup  of  milk  daily  by  each  of  the  20  million  families  in 
the  United  States  would  equal  in  a  year  the  total  ^j^^^  ^^^ 
production  of  400  thousand  cows ;   that  one  ounce   savings 
of  meat  or  fat  saved  daily  would  in  a  year  mean 
875  thousand  steers,  or  a  million  hogs ;  and  that  if  81  per  cent 


A  School  Bank  in  Operation 

of  the  whole  wheat  were  used  in  bread  instead  of  75  per  cent,  the 
saving  in  a  year  would  feed  1 2  million  people.  During  the  war 
our  government  organized  a  campaign  for  the  salvage  of  "  junk, " 
and  the  total  amount  collected  had  a  value  of  i|  billion  dollars. 
The  school  children  of  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  are  reported  to  have 
gathered  and  sold  two  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  waste  paper  in 
one  week,  and  those  of  many  other  communities  obtained  similar 
results. 


178  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

Every  successful  business  man  is  constantly  vigilant  to 
discover  and  remedy  waste  in  his  business  —  waste  of 
Value  of  materials,  time,  and  effort.     Many  of  the  most 

by-products  valuable  products  in  certain  industries  are  "by- 
products," —  that  is,  products  produced  as  an  incident  to 
the  main  industry  and  from  materials  that  otherwise  would 
have  been  wasted.  In  the  manufacture  of  gas  from  coal, 
for  example,  important  by-products  are  coke,  tar,  and  am- 
monia. There  has  been  great  waste  in  the  lumber  industry, 
but  now  practically  every  scrap  from  the  tree  may  be  used. 
In  the  Forestry  Products  Laboratory  at  the  University  of 
Wisconsin,  a  process  has  been  discovered  of  producing  from 
15  to  25  gallons  of  wood  alcohol  from  a  ton  of  sawdust 
—  and  sawdust  has  many  other  uses.  These  are  only  illus- 
trations. Scientists  and  inventors,  many  of  them  employed 
by  the  government,  are  constantly  at  work  finding  uses  for 
waste  products. 

Wastefulness  Wastefulness  is  found  in  great  variety  in  farm- 
in  farming        jjjg  activities.     For  example: 

WTiy  plant  seed  only  60  or  70  per  cent  of  which  will  germinate  when, 
for  a  few  doUars  extra  and  a  little  work,  seed  may  be  procured  that  will 
average  90  to  95  per  cent  in  the  germination  test  ?  Why  purchase  or  culti- 
vate a  worthless  crab  apple  tree  or  a  hybrid  when  Rome  Beauty,  Northern 
Spy,  or  Grimes  Golden,  and  other  standard  varieties  of  apples  may  be  se- 
cured for  a  few  additional  cents?  Why  feed  and  care  for  a  "scrub"  pig, 
calf,  or  colt  when  it  will  bring  at  maturity  only  half  or  two  thirds  the  price 
of  a  thoroughbred?  ...  It  is  not  thrift  to  invest  money  in  second-rate 
products. 

Some  farmers  are  so  careless  .  .  .  that  they  do  not  husk  their  corn  in 
the  fall  but  leave  it  standing  in  the  field  until  late  winter  or  early  spring. 
By  this  time  the  fodder  is  somewhat  decayed  and  unfit  for  feeding  pur- 
poses. Possibly  a  third  of  the  corn  has  been  eaten  by  the  birds,  a  third  of  it 
has  rotted,  and  a  third  of  it  remains  in  a  damp  and  moldy  condition.  .  .  . 
Many  boys  could  make  good  wages  by  going  over  the  corn  field  at  cutting 
time  and  collecting  the  ears  lying  on  the  ground.  .  .  .  Often  a  farmer 
will  cut  down  his  hay,  paying  no  attention  whatever  to  the  reports  of  the 


THRIFT 


179 


weather  bureau.  .  .  .      Apples  shaken  from  the  trees  by  the  wind  decay  on 
the  ground.  .  .  . 

The  bearings  of  mowing  machines  and  reapers  often  suffer  excessive  wear 
because  the  owner  neglects  to  keep  them  properly  oiled.  Often  a  wheat 
drill,  a  mowing  machine,  a  threshing  machine,  or  an  engine  is  left  out  of 
doors  for  a  whole  year,  or  for  several  months  after  the  farmer  has  ceased  to 
use  it.  A  good  piece  of  machinery,  if  Judiciously  used,  properly  lubricated, 
and  put  away  in  a  dry  place,  may  last  from  ten  to  twenty  years,  while  the 


WJI^KJ^'^ii^wi  Jb)S&    --^^^4 

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^B       ^      i^wfli  M^sit 

A  Community  Kitchen 


life  of  such  machinery  will  only  be  about  half  as  long  without  proper  care. 
If  a  wooden  handle  rots  loose  from  its  fastenings  it  is  an  indication  that  the 
handle  has  not  been  thoroughly  dried  after  it  has  been  used.  Tools  rust 
out  very  readily  if  they  are  not  kept  dry  and  thoroughly  oiled.  ...  So 
careless  are  some  farmers  that  hoes,  shovels,  mattocks,  wrenches,  saws, 
and  axes  are  thrown  down  in  the  field  or  woods  to  lie  there  until  it  is  again 
necessar}^  to  use  them.  It  often  takes  hours  to  find  an  article  thus  mis- 
placed or  thrown  aside.  It  is  economy  of  time  to  know  just  where  to  find 
everything  on  the  farm.' 

The  topics  on  page  180  from  publications  of  the  States  Rela- 
tions Service  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  are  suggestive : 

1  The  Teaching  of  Thrift,  by  H.  R.  Bonner,  Assistant  State  Superintendent  of 
Schools,  West  Virginia,  pp.  22,  23. 


l8o  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

Preventing  loss  of  food  in  the  home  : 

Suitable  food  storage  places  and  equipment. 

Essentials  of  a  good  refrigerator. 

The  care  of  winter  vegetables  and  fruit. 

The  care  of  perishable  vegetables  and  fruit. 

Prevention  of  spoilage  of  milk,  meat,  and  fish. 

Preservation  of  eggs. 

Care  of  bread  and  other  baked  products. 

What  should  not  go  into  the  garbage  pail. 

Good  cooking  and  attractive  serving. 

Failure  to  use  perishable  food  promptly. 

Failure  to  use  left-overs  completely. 

Failure  to  use  all  food  materials  (fats,  meat  and  fish  bones,  etc.). 

Leaving  small  portions  of  food  in  mixing  and  cooking  dishes. 

Lack  of  accurate  measuring  and  mixing,  so  that  food  is  not  pala- 
table. 

Allowing  food  to  be  scorched  or  otherwise  spoiled  in  preparation. 

Providing  over-generous  portions  in  serv-ing. 

Failure  to  eat  all  food  served. 
Preventing  loss  of  food  in  the  market : 

Sanitary  display  cases  for  food. 

Prevention  of  "sampling"  and  handling  of  food. 

Food  protection  in  food  carts  and  delivery  wagons. 

Proper  care  of  milk. 

Proper  care  of  meat  and  fish. 

Prevention  of  cereal  products  from  deterioration. 

Protection  of  fruits  and  vegetables. 

The  care  of  bread  and  bakery  products. 

Careful  selection  of  food. 
Following  are  special  points  which  might  be  discussed  : 

The  weU-planned  house. 

Saving  steps  by  better  arrangement  of  equipment. 

Lessening  work  by  systematizing  it. 

Menu-planning  for  lessened  work  in  preparation. 

Household  lighting. 

Labor-saving  equipment  in  the  laundry,  the  kitchen,  and  the  sew- 
ing room. 

Labor-saving  devices  for  house  cleaning. 

Leading  a  simple  life. 
Apply  to  your  home  demonstration  agent,  or  write  to  States  Relations 
Service,  for  publications  relating  to  thrift  in  food,  clothing,  fuel,  etc. 


THRIFT  l8l 

(4)  Thrift  involves  a  wise  use  of  savings.  They  may  be 
invested  in  a  home,  a  wise  use  because  of  the  satisfaction 
that  a  home  produces.  If  the  home  is  well  located,  well  built, 
and  well  kept  up,  it  will  probably  also  increase  in  money  value. 
Savings  may  be  invested  in  machinery  for  farming.  Thrift  in 
manufacturing,  or  mining ;  in  a  stock  of  goods  to  be  investment 
sold  at  a  profit ;  in  houses  or  office  buildings  to  be  rented  to 
others ;  or  they  may  be  lent  to  others  who  pay  interest  for 
their  use.  In  all  these  cases  money  represents  capital  —  capital 
being  the  machinery  or  tools  and  other  equipment  with  which 
wealth  is  produced. 

Capital  is  brought  into  existence  in  only  one  way  —  that  is,  by  consuming 
less  than  is  produced.  If  one  has  a  dollar  one  can  spend  it  either  for  an 
article  of  consumption,  say  confectionery,  or  for  an  article  of  production, 
say  a  spade.  He  who  buys  a  spade  becomes  a  capitalist  to  the  amount  of 
a  dollar  —  that  is,  he  becomes  the  owner  of  tools.  The  process  is  precisely 
the  same  whether  the  amount  in  question  is  a  dollar  or  a  million  dollars.' 

Every   business   requires   capital,   some   more   than   others. 

Farming  requires  more  capital  to-day  than  formerly  because 

of  the  increased  use  of  machinery.     The  necessary 

•     1  ■  ^         ^  111  1        Borrowing 

capital  must  either  be  saved  by  the  person  who 

wants  to  use  it,  or  borrowed  from  others  who  have  saved  it. 

The  advantage  of  borrowing  is  that  one  does  not  have  to  wait  so  long 
to  get  possession  of  the  tools  and  equipment.  One  can  get  them  at  once 
and  make  them  produce  the  means  of  paying  for  themselves.  Without 
them  the  farmer's  production  might  be  so  low  as  to  make  it  difficult  ever 
to  accumulate  enough  with  which  to  buy  them.  With  their  help  he  may 
be  able  to  pay  for  them  —  that  is,  to  pay  off  the  debt  —  in  a  shorter  time 
than  it  would  take  to  accumulate  the  purchase  price  without  them.  That 
is  the  only  advantage  of  credit  in  any  business,  but  it  is  a  great  advantage 
to  those  who  know  how  to  use  it.^ 

1  T.  N.  Carver,  "How  to  Use  Farm  Credit,"  Farmers'  Bulletin  593,  U.  S. 
Department  of  Agriculture,  p.  2. 

2  T.  N.  Carver,  "How  to  Use  Farm  Credit,"  Farmers'  Bulletin,  593,  U.  S.  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  p.  2. 


l82  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

Credit  is  simply  a  person's  ability  to  borrow  and  depends  upon 
the  confidence  that  others  place  in  him.  This  confidence 
depends  on  his  reputation  for  honesty  and  his 
known  ability  to  repay.  A  man,  as  a  rule,  has  to 
have  something  —  land  or  property  of  other  kind  —  that  he  can 
offer  as  security  before  he  can  borrow  much.  It  is  for  this  reason 
that  thrift  is  essential  to  a  man's  credit  —  thrift  and  honesty. 

There  is  no  magic  about  credit.  It  is  a  powerful  agency  for  good  in  the 
hands  of  those  who  know  how  to  use  it.  So  is  a  buzz  saw.  They  are 
about  equally  dangerous  in  the  hands  of  those  who  do  not  understand 
them.  .  .  .  Many  a  farmer  would  be  better  off  to-day  if  he  had  never  had 
a  chance  to  borrow  money  at  all,  or  go  into  debt  for'  the  things  which  he 
bought.  However,  there  is  no  reason  why  those  farmers  who  do  know  how 
to  use  credit  should  not  have  it. 

Shortsighted  people,  however,  who  do  not  realize  how  inexorably  the 
time  of  payment  arrives,  who  do  not  know  how  rapidly  tools  wear  out  and 
have  to  be  replaced,  or  do  not  keep  accounts  in  order  that  they  may  tell 
exactly  where  they  stand  financially,  will  do  well  to  avoid  borrowing. 
Debts  have  to  be  paid  with  deadly  certainty,  and  they  who  do  not  have 
the  wherewithal  when  the  day  of  reckoning  arrives  become  bankrupt  with 
equal  certainty. 

On  the  other  hand  there  is  nothing  disgraceful  in  borrowing  for  productive 
purposes.  The  feeling  that  it  is  not  quite  respectable  to  go  into  debt  has 
grown  out  of  the  old  habit  of  borrowing  to  pay  living  expenses.  That 
was  regarded,  perhaps  "rightly,  as  a  sign  of  incompetency.  .  .  .  But  to 
borrow  for  a  genuinely  productive  purpose,  for  a  purpose  that  will  bring 
you  in  more  than  enough  to  pay  off  your  debt,  principal  and  interest,  is  a 
profitable  enterprise.  It  shows  business  sagacity  and  courage,  and  is  not 
a  thing  to  be  ashamed  of.  But  it  cannot  be  too  much  emphasized  that  the 
would-be  borrower  must  calculate  very  carefully  and  be  sure  that  it  is  a 
productive  enterprise  before  he  goes  into  debt.' 

Even  though  a  farmer  be  thrifty,  industrious,  and  honest, 
the  conditions  of  farm  business  are  such  that  it  has  not  always 
Cooperation  been  easy  for  him  to  borrow  capital.  Here  again 
for  credit  cooperation  helps.     In  some  of  our  states  the  law 

permits  the  organization  of  credit  unions.    The  members  are 

1  T.  N.  Carver,  "How  to  Use  Farm  Credit,"  p.  2. 


THRIFT  183 

farmers  of  a  neighborhood  or  district  and,  therefore,  are  ac- 
quainted with  one  another.  Each  member  must  buy  shares 
of  stock,  which  provides  a  certain  amount  of  funds.  The  union 
may  also  receive  deposits  of  money,  paying  interest  on  them 
as  a  savings  bank  would  do.  This  increases  the  funds  and  also 
encourages  thrift  on  the  part  of  the  farmer.  Idle  money,  or 
money  that  might  otherwise  be  spent  unwisely,  is  thus  made 
productive.  In  some  unions,  as  in  Massachusetts,  children  are 
encouraged  to  deposit  their  small  savings,  and  in  some  cases 
half  the  capital  of  the  union  is  made  up  of  such  small  savings 
deposits.  From  these  funds  loans  are  made  to  members  of  the 
union  on  reasonable  terms,  provided  they  are  to  be  used  for 
productive  purposes.  The  union  may  also  borrow  money  from 
the  bank  in  town  on  the  collective  credit  of  its  members  for  the 
improvement  of  agricultural  conditions  in  the  neighborhood. 

Similar  aid  to  the  farmers'  credit  has  been  given  by  the 
national  government  through  the  Federal  Farm  Loan  Act  of 

1 01 6.     This  Act   created   a   Federal   Farm  Loan   „  ..      ... 
^  _  National  aid 

Board  in  the  Treasury  Department,  and  twelve  to  the  fanners' 
Federal  Land  Banks,  one  in  each  of  twelve  dis-  "^^^^ 
tricts  into  which  the  United  States  was  divided  for  that  purpose. 
Through  the  organization  provided  by  the  board  and  the 
banks,  a  farmer  may  now  borrow  money  on  more  favorable 
terms,  but  only  on  condition  that  he  agrees  to  use  the  money 
for  the  purchase  and  improvement  of  land  or  for  equipment, 
and  to  engage  in  the  actual  cultivation  of  the  farm  for  the 
development  of  which  he  desired  the  money. 

The  provisions  of  the  Federal  Farm  Loan  Act  afford  an  excellent  illus- 
tration of  how  government  promotes  citizen  cooperation.  The  government 
does  not  lend  the  money  to  the  farmers ;  it  merely  provides  the  machinery 
by  which  the  farmers  may  cooperate  among  themselves,  and  also  secure 
the  cooperation  of  investors  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  to  obtain  capital 
necessary  for  the  proper  development  of  the  land.  As  a  rule  the  farmer 
can  borrow  money  from  the  land  bank  only  by  being  a  member  of  a  local 
"  national  farm  loan  association."     His  dealings  with  the  bank  are  through 


1 84 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


this  association.  His  membership  in  the  association  gives  him  better 
standing  and  secures  for  him  better  terms  than  he  could  get  if  acting  sep- 
arately. Moreover,  the  money  that  the  bank  lends  to  the  farmer  comes 
from  the  farmers  who  belong  to  the  association,  and  from  investors  in  all 
parts  of  the  country,  who  buy  shares  of  stock  in  the  bank  and  bonds  issued 
by  the  bank  on  the  security  of  the  farmers'  land  and  equipment.  The  whole 
scheme  is  one  of  cooperation  which  would  be  impossible  but  for  the  legisla- 
tion, financial  support,  and  supervision  of  the  government  at  Washington. 


Good  Returns  on  the  Investment 
Boys'  Club  and  leader  examining  a  good  litter  of  pigs. 

It  will  be  seen  then  that  much  of  the  capital  that  a  farmer 

uses  is  borrowed,  and  is  made  up  of  small  savings  of  other 

people  —  some  of  them  his  neighbors,  others  in 
Partnership         ,.  ,  _,,  .  .  . 

in  the  distant  places.     The  same  is  true  with  respect  to 

nation's  \}^q   capital   used    in    all    other   businesses.     The 

business 

enormous  capital  of  railroads  is   derived   chiefly 

from  the  savings  of  millions  of  people,  some  of  whom  buy  shares 

of  railroad  stock  directly,  but   most  of  whom   deposit  their 

savings  in  banks  or  other  institutions  which,  in  turn,  lend  it  to 

the  railroads  or  invest  it  in  their  stock.     The  farmer  or  the 

school  boy  who  has  a  savings  account  in  a  neighboring  bank 


THRIFT  185 

thus  may  become  a  partner  in  various  business  enterprises  of 
the  country.  His  dollars  or  dimes,  added  to  the  dollars  and 
dimes  of  many  other  people,  are  used  to  buy  machinery  and 
tools  and  materials,  and  to  pay  labor.  Because  of  the  service 
performed  by  his  savings  he  receives  interest  on  his  money. 

There  are  many  opportunities  for  young  people  to  invest 
savings   in    productive   enterprises,  —  perhaps   more   in   rural 
communities  than  elsewhere.     The  different  kinds   opportuni- 
of  boys'  and  girls'  clubs  illustrate  the  variety  of  ties  for 
channels  through  which  money  may  be  both  earned  ^'^^^^  ™®° 
and  invested.     As  soon  as  a  boy  invests  a  little  money  in  a  pig, 
or  a  calf,  or  garden  tools,  he  becomes  a  capitalist  to  that  extent. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  not  many  have  the  experience  of  the  boy 
described  in  the  following  lines :  ^ 

Johnnie  bought  a  little  pig  with  money  he  had  earned, 

He  named  her  Nell  and  fed  her  well,  and  lots  of  tricks  she  learned. 

But  Nellie  grew  to  be  a  sow,  had  piggies  quite  a  few. 

Then  father  up  and  sold  them,  and  kept  the  money,  too. 

Johnnie  took  a  little  calf  as  pay  for  hoeing  corn, 

He  loved  the  calf  and  the  calf  loved  him  as  sure  as  you  are  born. 

The  calfie  grew  to  be  a  cow,  as  all  good  calfies  do. 

Then  father  up  and  sold  her,  and  kept  the  money,  too. 

Now,  Johnnie  loved  his  little  pets,  but  father  loved  the  pelf, 
So  Johnnie  left  his  father's  farm  and  struck  out  for  himself. 
Said  Johnnie's  pa,  one  summer  day,  "I  often  wonder  why 
Boys  don't  like  life  upon  the  farm,  'the  city'  is  their  cry." 

"It  always  will  be  strange  to  me,"  continued  Johnnie's  pa, 
"It  only  goes  to  prove,  though,  how  ungrateful  children  are." 
When  Johnnie  heard  what  father  said,  he  gave  a  bitter  laugh, 
And  thought  of  his  empty  childhood  and  of  his  pig  and  calf. 

Savings  may  be  deposited  in  savings  banks,  which  accept 
small  deposits  and  pay  compound  interest,  usually  at  a  rate 

1  Read  by  R.  H.  Wilson,  in  an  address  before  the  National  Council  of  Education, 
N.  E.  A.  Proceedings,  1917,  p.  133. 


i86 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


of  3  per  cent  or  3I  per  cent.  Such  banks  operate  in  accordance 
with  state  or  national  laws  to  protect  the  depositor  against 
Savings  loss.     Many  schools  conduct  school  savings  banks, 

banks  'pj^g    pupils    bring    their    small    amounts    to    the 

teacher  or  to  some  pupil  acting  as  "teller,"  the  collected  funds 
then  being  deposited  in  some  bank  in  the  community.  These 
school  banks  promote  habits  of  thrift  and  afford  experience  in 


At  the  Bank 

business  methods,  besides  bringing  into  use  in  the  world's  work 
many  small  amounts  of  money  that  would  otherwise  be  lying 
idle  or  spent  unwisely. 

In  1 9 10  Congress  established  the  Postal  Savings  System 
under  which  any  post  office  may  be  a  savings  bank.  Any 
Postal  Savings  person  over  ten  years  of  age  may  deposit  money 
System  ^|-   ^\^q  postal  savings  bank  in  amounts  of  from 

$1.00  to  $25.00,  receiving  from  the  postmaster  postal  savings 
certificates  as  evidence  of  the  deposit.  Provision  is  made  for 
savings  accounts  of  less  than  a  dollar  by  selling  postal  savings 


THRIFT  187 

stamps  at  ten  cents  each,   ten  of  which  may  be  exchanged 

for  a  dollar  certificate.    Two  per  cent  interest  is  paid  on  postal 

savings,  but  savings  certificates  may  be  exchanged  for  postal 

savings  bonds,  bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of  2^  per  cent. 

The  purchase  of  Liberty  Bonds  or  Savings  Stamps  and  Thrift 

Stamps  is  a  good  investment  and  a  patriotic  act.     The  money 

raised  in  this  way  is  used  for  the  national  defense   ^     .. 

•'  Lending 

and  for  reconstruction  after  the  war.  The  Savings  to  the 
Division  of  the  United  States  Treasury  Depart-  g°^«r^e°t 
ment  carries  on  a  campaign  of  thrift  education.  Among  other 
things,  it  promotes  the  organization  of  savings  societies  and 
thrift  clubs,  because  thrift  is  a  habit  which  is  encouraged  by 
the  example  and  cooperation  of  others.  In  Randolph  County, 
Indiana,  for  example,  each  consolidated  school  has  its  thrift 
club,  and  over  75  per  cent  of  the  pupils  are  members.  One  of 
these  schools  sold  over  $11,000  worth  of  thrift  stamps,  and 
others  sold  from  $1500  to  $3500  worth.  Savings  societies 
exist  among  the  workmen  of  many  industries,  and  employers 
report  that  it  has  increased  the  purchase  of  homes,  and  has 
resulted  in  a  saving  of  materials  and  tools  because  of  the  habits 
of  thrift  established. 

Among  the  many  other  agencies  to  promote  thrift  we  shall 
only  mention  building  and  loan  associations  and  insurance. 
The  purpose  of  building  and  loan  associations  is 
to  help  people  of  small  means  to  purchase  or  build 
homes.  Insurance  affords  a  particularly  good  illustration  of 
organized  cooperation.  The  premiums  paid  by  thousands  of 
policy  holders  produce  a  large  sum  of  money,  part  of  which 
goes  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  insurance  company,  but  most 
of  which  is  invested  in  enterprises  that  cause  the  amount  rapidly 
to  increase.  Out  of  this  fund  the  occasional  losses  of  individ- 
uals are  paid.  Life  insurance  is  a  good  form  of  investment. 
It  provides  for  the  future  of  the  family  of  the  insured  in  case 
of  his  death.     By  the  endowment  plan  the  insured  may  himself 


1 88  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

receive,  at  the  end  of  a  speciJ&ed  number  of  years,  all  that  he 
has  paid  in  premiums  together  with  interest. 

During  the  war  our  national  government  itself  insured  the 
soldiers  against  death  or  injury.  This  was  known  as  war 
risk  insurance.  At  the  end  of  the  war  the  soldier  had  the 
privilege  of  converting  the  war  risk  insurance  into  a  regular 
form  of  insurance,  still  provided,  however,  by  the  government 
itself.  One  of  our  states  also,  Wisconsin,  sells  life  insurance 
to  its  citizens. 

As  we  proceed  with  our  study  we  shall  encounter  other 
aspects  of  thrift  in  various  chapters.  As  a  nation  we  may  be 
thrifty  or  unthrifty  in  the  use  of  our  resources  (see  Chapters  XIV 
and  XV).  Thrift  is  as  essential  in  our  "community  house- 
keeping," which  is  carried  on  by  government,  as  in  our  homes 
and  business.  But  we  can  hardly  expect  thrift  to  become  a 
national  characteristic  unless  it  first  becomes  a  personal  habit. 

Are  you  a  capitalist  ?     If  so,  explain  in  what  way. 

What  forms  does  the  capital  take  with  which  your  father  does  business? 

What  capital  does  an  Eskimo  have?  the  American  Indians  when  the 
country  was  first  settled? 

Do  you  belong  to  a  thrift  club?  Would  it  be  desirable  to  organize  one 
in  your  school?  Confer  with  your  teacher  and  principal  about  it.  Write 
to  the  Savings  Division,  U.  S.  Treasury  Department,  Washington,  D.C.,  for 
literature  regarding  organization. 

Is  there  a  credit  union,  or  a  savings  association,  or  other  organization 
to  promote  thrift  in  your  community  ?     If  so,  find  out  how  it  operates. 

Write  a  story  on  the  subject,  "What  my  five  dollars  may  accomplish 
after  I  put  it  in  the  savings  bank,  before  it  comes  back  to  me  with  interest." 

Why  are  people  willing  to  accept  a  lower  rate  of  interest  from  a  postal 
savings  bank  than  from  an  ordinary  savings  bank? 

READINGS 

In  Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life : 
Series  A :    Lesson    6,  Capital. 

Lesson  13,  U.  S.  Food  Administration, 
i  Lesson  14,  Substitute  foods. 

Lesson  15,  Woman  as  the  family  purchaser. 


THRIFT  189 

Lesson  21,  Borrowing  capital  for  modern  business. 
Lesson  22,  Tlie  commercial  bank  and  modem  business. 
Series  B  :   Lesson    7,  An  inteDigently  selected  diet. 
Lesson  22,  Financing  the  war. 
Lesson  23,  Thrift  and  war  savings. 
Series  C :   Lesson    7,  Preserving  foods. 

Lesson    8,  Preventing  waste  of  human  beings. 
Lesson  14,  The  U.  S.  Fuel  Administration. 

Lesson  16,  The  Commercial  Economy  Board  of  the  Council  of  Na- 
tional Defense. 
Write  Savings  Division,  U.  S.  Treasury  Department,  for  materials;    especially 
"Ten  Lessons  in  Thrift,"  and  "Teaching  Thrift  in  Elementary  Schools."     Both  of 
these  contain  lists  of  readings. 

The  Post-Office  Department  has  publications  descriptive  of  the  postal  savings 
service. 

Farmers'  Bulletins,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  relating  to  thrift. 
Federal  Farm  Loan  Act,  How  It  Benefits  the  Fanner,  Farmers'  Bulletin  792. 
See  references  in  footnotes  in  this  chapter. 

Dunn,  The  Community  and  the  Citizen,  chap,  xiv,  "Waste  and  Saving." 
The  local  public  library,  the  State  Library,  and  the  State  Agricultural  College, 
will  doubtless  furnish  lists  of  references  and  perhaps  provide  materials. 
The  United  States  Bureau  of  Education  will  send  list  of  references. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE    RELATION    BETWEEN    THE    PEOPLE    AND    THE    LAND 

"Nature  was  much  bigger  and  stronger  than  man.  She  •would 
stiffer  no  sudden  highways  to  be  thrown  across  her  spaces ;  she  abated 
not  an  inch  of  her  mountains,  compromised  not  a  foot  of  her  forests. 
.  .  .  For  the  creation  of  the  nation  the  conquest  of  her  proper  terri- 
tory from  Nature  was  first  necessary.  ...  A  bold  race  has  derived 
inspiration  from  the  size,  the  difficulty,  the  danger  of  the  task." 

If  you  wanted  to  buy  a  farm,  what  facts  would  you  investigate  in  regard 
to  land  and  location? 

What  farm  in  your  neighborhood  comes  nearest  to  meeting  your  require- 
ments in  these  matters?     Explain  fully  why. 

Make  a  sketch  map  of  a  farm  in  your  neighborhood,  preferably  one  upon 
which  you  have  lived,  showing  as  nearly  as  you  can  the  boundaries,  the 
position  of  highlands  and  lowlands,  marshes,  timber,  streams,  etc.  Also 
the  position  of  house,  barns,  bridges,  roads,  and  other  important  features. 

Did  the  features  of  the  land  indicated  on  your  map  determine  the  location 
of  the  buildings?  of  the  roads  and  bridges?  the  kinds  of  crops  raised 
on  different  parts  of  the  farm? 

Should  the  surface  features  of  the  land  be  taken  into  account  in  deter- 
mining the  position  of  the  house  and  barns  in  relation  to  each  other  ?     Why  ? 

Has  the  character  of  the  land  influenced  the  life  of  the  farmer's  family 
in  any  way?     Explain. 

Directly  or  indirectly,  geographical  conditions  afifect  every 
aspect  of  community  life  and  help  or  hinder  us  in  satisfying  all 
Importance  of  °^  ^^^  wants  (see  Chapter  I).  Their  influence  is 
geographical  chiefly  felt,  however,  in  their  relation  to  the 
economic  interest  of  the  people ;  that  is,  in  rela- 
tion to  earning  a  living  and  the  production  of  wealth. 

Every  step  that  man  has  taken  to  make  his  relations  with  the 
land  permanent  and  definite  has  been  a  step  of  progress  in 

190 


THE   PEOPLE  AND   THE   LAND  I91 

civilization,  as  when,  for  example,  the  savage  hunter  became 
a  herdsman,  or  the  herdsman  an  agriculturist.  We  live  to-day 
in  an  age  of  machinery,  which  is  a  result  of  Establishing 
turning  to  our  use  the  metals  from  the  depths  of  relations  with 
the  earth  and  the  power  derived  from  the  forces  *^®  ^^^^ 
of  nature,  as  in  the  application  of  steam,  electricity,  and  the 
explosive  force  of  gasoline.  Many  have  had  a  part  in  this 
work  of  establishing  relations  with  the  land :  explorers ; 
scientists  who  have  discovered  the  uses  of  our  varied  mineral 
and  vegetable  resources  and  how  to  make  the  forces  of  nature 
serve  us ;  engineers  who  have  built  our  railroads  and  bridges 
and  tunneled  our  mountains.  A  most  important  part  has  been 
taken  by  those  who  win  their  living  directly  from  nature's 
resources  —  the  woodsman,  the  miner,  the  farmer ;  and  the 
service  of  the  farmer  has  been  especially  great  in  giving  stability 
to  our  community  life. 

Those  American  Indians  were  most  civilized  who  had  de- 
veloped agriculture  to  the  highest  point,  because  this  meant 
a  settled  life.     If  we  recall  the  story  of  the  coloniza-  Agriculture 
tion  of  America  we  shall  remember  that  it  was  means  a 
not  successfully  accomplished  by  the  gold  hunters   ^^    ^    ^  ® 
and  fur  traders  who  came  first,  but  only  when  those  came  who, 
as  farmers,  began  to  cultivate  the  soil.     Later,  as  the  popula- 
tion moved  westward  across  the  Alleghenies  into  the  Mississippi 
Valley  and  on  to  the  Pacific  Coast,  the  hunters  and  trappers 
were  the  scouts  who  found  the  way,  while  the  real  army  that 
took  possession  of  the  land  was  an  army  of  farmers. 

Did  the  American  Indians  who  formerly  lived  in  your  locality  lead  a 
settled  life?  Why?  Were  they  agriculturists  to  any  extent?  If  so,  what 
do  you  know  of  their  method  of  agriculture? 

Of  what  pastoral  peoples  have  you  read?  WTiy  was  their  life  more  set- 
tled than  that  of  hunting  peoples?     Why  less  settled  than  that  of  farmers? 

Why  were  settlements  by  gold  hunters  and  fur  traders  likely  not  to  be 
permanent  ? 

Do  you  know  of  important  mining  towns  that  have  had  a  brief  life? 


Courtesy  American  Magazine  of  An. 
EXPLOREKS    OF   THE    GrEAT   NORTHWEST 

A  Statue  at  the  University  of  Oregon. 
192 


THE   PEOPLE  AND   THE   LAND 


193 


The  story  of  how  individuals  acquired  the  right  to  own  land 
is  an  interesting  one,  but  too  long  to  be  told  here.     The  right 
has  long  been  recognized  and  protected  by  govern-   protecting 
ment.     If  your  father  owns  a  piece  of  land  he   ownership 
doubtless  has  a  deed  for  it,  containing  an  accurate 
description  of  the  land  and  giving  him  title  to  ownership^    In 
each  county  there  is  an  office  of  government  where  all  deeds 
are  recorded  —  the  ofi&ce  of  the  recorder  or  register  of  deeds. 


i 

mt- 

"2 

'•i 

il^' 

^H^ 

Courtesy  American  Magazine  oj  Art, 

"The  Prospector" 
After  a  painting  by  Allen  True. 


The  record  of  every  piece  of  land  is  thus  kept  and  is  open  to 
examination  by  any  one.  If  a  man  wishes  to  buy  a  piece  of 
land  he  will  go  to  the  office  of  the  recorder  and  find  out  whether 
the  title  to  the  land  is  clear.  Only  by  so  doing  may  he  be 
protected  against  error  or  fraud. 

Since  lands  are  likely  to  change  hands  a  number  of  times, 
and  since  men  frequently  mortgage  their  lands  as  security  for 
loans  or  other  indebtedness,  thus  giving  to  others   Transfers 
a  claim  to  their  land,  it  is  sometimes  a  tedious  and   ^^  ^^^'^ 
difficult  task  for  a  buyer  to  trace  the  record  back  and  to  be  sure 


194 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


4 

Y 

X 

3 

Q 

2 

BAS 

2 
E 

1 
LINE 

4 

3 

2 

1 
1 

2 

3 

4 

2 

Z 

a. 

3 

W 

4 

that  the  title  to  the  land  is  clear.     It  sometimes  requires  months. 

There  are  lawyers  who  make  a  business  of  examining  the  records 

and  making  abstracts  of 
titles.  This  involves  ex- 
pense. Besides,  there  is 
always  the  chance  that  a 
mistake  may  be  made 
somewhere.  For  this 
reason  some  states  have 
adopted  a  plan  known  as 
the  Torrens  System  of  land 
transfer,  from  the  name 
of  the  man  who  devised 
it  in  Australia. 

Under  the  Torrens  System 
the  government  itself,  through 
its  proper  ofl&cer,  may  examine 
the  title  to  any  piece  of  land. 
The  land  is  then  registered,  and 

the  owner  is  given  a  certificate  as  evidence.     If  a  mortgage  is  placed  on 

the  land  or  if  it  changes  hands  the  transaction  is  recorded  on  the  certificate 

and  in  the  office  records.     A  mere  glance  at  the  record  of  registry  or  at  the 

certificate  is  sufficient  to  ascer- 
tain the  title  to  the  land.     Thus 

time   and   expense    are    saved; 

and  moreover   the   government 

gives  its  absolute  guarantee  to    ■ 

the   owner   or   buyer  as  to  his    

rights  in  the  land.  

The  Torrens   System    is    in 

use  in   some   form   in   fourteen    ' 

states    of    the    Union,    in    the 

Philippines  and  Hawaii,  and  in    

various  other  countries  of  the 

world. 


I.   X  is  township  3  north  in  range  3  west 

Y  "         "         4      ' 4  east 

Z  "         "         2  south  "       "       2    " 
W"         "         4      "      '■       "       3  west 


Correction 


Line 


II. 


When  settlers  began  to  occupy  the  lands  west  of  the  Alle- 
ghenies,  many  of  them  laid  claim  to  tracts  without  much  regard 


THE  PEOPLE  AND  THE  LAND 


195 


6 

5 

4 

3 

2 

1 

7 

a 
8 

9 

10 

II 

12 

18 

17 

16 

15 

14 

13 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

30 

29 

28 

27 

26 

25 

31 

32 

33 

34 

35 

36 

III.  A  Township  Showing  Sections 
(36  square  miles).  Suppose  this  to  be 
township  X  in  diagram  I.  Then  the 
section  named  a  is  section  8  of  township 
3  north  in  range  3  west. 


for  the  claims  of  others. 
Boundary  lines  were  indefinite. 
Where  surveys  The  survey 
were  made  they  of  the  public 
were  often  inac-  ^°  ^ 
curate.  Much  confusion  re- 
sulted. .  Disputes  arose  that 
frequently  found  their  way 
into  the  courts  and  dragged  on 
for  many  years.  The  govern- 
ment sought  to  put  an  end  to 
this  state  of  affairs,  and  in 
Thomas  Jefferson's  administra- 
tion a  survey  was  begun  to 
establish  lines  by  which  any 
piece  of  land  might  be  located  and  defined  with  exactness. 

The  government  survey  was  begun  by  establishing  certain  north  and 
south  lines  known  as  principal  meridians. 
There  are  twenty-four  of  these,  the  first  being 
the  meridian  that  separates  Indiana  from  Ohio, 
while  the  last  runs  through  the  state  of  Oregon. 
At  intervals  of  six  miles  east  and  west  of  the 
principal  meridians  were  established  other  me- 
ridians called  range  lines.  A  parallel  of  latitude 
was  then  chosen  as  a  base  line,  and  at  intervals 
of  six  miles  north  and  south  of  the  base  line  were 
established  township  lines.  These  township  lines 
with  the  range  lines  divide  the  country  into 
areas  six  miles  square  called  townships.  A  town- 
ship may  thus  be  located  with  reference  to  its 
nearest  base  line  and  principal  meridian  (see 
diagram  I). 

Since  meridians  converge  as  we  go  north 
(look  at  a  globe),  the  townships  are  not  exactly 
square,  and  become  slightly  smaller  toward  the 
north.  To  correct  this,  certain  parallels  north 
and  south  of  the  base  line  were  chosen   as 


•40 
acres 

NB'4 
NWM 

NXs        NE>J 

80  acres 

SEK 
NE'X 
4^)  acres 

ICO  acres 
SWJi 

IGO  acres 
SEJi 

IV.  A  Section  (640  acres) 
Suppose  this  to  be  section  a 
of  diagram  III. 
Then  the  160  acres  in  the 
lower  right-hand  corner  is 
the  southeast  \  of  section  8 
of  township  3  north  in  range 
3  west.  The  40  acres  marked 
NE  \  NW  \  is  the  northeast 
J  of  the  northwest  \  of  sec- 
tion 8  of  township  3  north  in 
range  3  west. 


196  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

correction  lines,  from  which  the  survey  began  again  as  from  the  original 
base  line  (see  diagram  II). 

Each  township  is  divided  into  sections  one  mile  square,  and  therefore 
containing  640  acres  each.  These  sections  are  numbered  in  each  township 
from  I  to  36  as  indicated  in  diagram  III.  Each  section  is  further  sub- 
divided into  halves  and  quarters,  which  are  designated  as  in  diagram  IV. 

This  government  survey  has  been  made  only  in  the  "public 
lands"  (see  below,  p.  197).  It  is  still  being  carried  on  by  the 
General  Land  Ofhce  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior.  In 
191 7  more  than  10,000,000  acres,  or  nearly  16,000  square  miles, 
were  surveyed.     In  that  year  there  still  remained  unsurveyed 


C'Durlesy  ,1  mericun  Magazine  of  Art. 

"Surveying  the  Land" 
After  a  painting  by  Frank  D.  Miller. 

more  than  900,000  square  miles  of  public  land,  590,000  of  which 
were  in  Alaska  and  320,000  in  the  United  States  proper.  In 
the  original  thirteen  states  along  the  Atlantic  seaboard  a  similar 
survey  has  been  made,  but  either  by  private  enterprise  or  under 
the  authority  of  the  state  or  county  governments.  Massa- 
chusetts has  recently  spent  a  large  sum  of  money  in  a  new  survey 
of  the  state  for  the  purpose  of  verifying  and  correcting  doubtful 
boundaries. 

Has  your  father  a  deed  to  the  land  you  live  on?  If  so,  ask  him  to  show 
it  to  you  and  explain  it.     How  is  the  land  described? 

At  the  first  convenient  time,  make  a  visit  to  the  office  of  the  recorder  of 
deeds  in  your  county,  and  ask  to  have  some  of  the  records  shown  and 
explained  to  you,  preferably  the  record  of  the  property  you  occupy.     Where 


THE   PEOPLE   AND   THE   LAND  1 97 

is  the  office  of  the  recorder?  (A  visit  of  this  sort  should  be  in  company 
with  the  teacher  or  parent.  A  class  excursion  for  this  and  other  purposes 
may  well  be  arranged  for.) 

What  is  a  mortgage  ?     An  abstract  of  title  ?     (Consult  parents.) 

Is  the  Torrens  System  in  use  in  your  state  ? 

Is  your  state  a  "public  land  state"? 

From  the  deed  to  your  father's  land,  or  from  the  records  in  the  recorder's 
office,  or  from  a  map  of  your  county  showing  the  survey  lines,  locate  the  land 
you  live  on,  as  indicated  in  the  accompanying  diagrams. 

In  what  section  and  township  is  your  schooUiouse? 

Are  there  still  any  "public  lands"  in  your  state? 

Are  the  boundary  lines  of  farms  in  your  neighborhood  regular  or  irregular? 
How  does  this  happen? 

Do  you  know  of  any  boundary  disputes  between  farmers  or  other  citizens 
in  your  community?  What  machinery  of  government  exists  to  settle  such 
disputes  ? 

At  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  the  territory  of  the 
United  States  extended  west  as  far  as  the  Mississippi  River. 
That  part  of  this  territory  which  lay  west  of  the  The  pubUc 
Allegheny  Mountains  had  been  claimed  by  seven  ^^^^^ 
of  the  thirteen  states  that  formed  the  Union ;  but  soon  after 
the  war  they  ceded  these  western  possessions  to  the  United 
States,  having  received  a  promise  from  Congress  that  these 
lands,  which  were  largely  unoccupied  at  the  time,  should  be 
disposed  of  "for  the  common  benefit  of  the  United  States."  They 
thus  became  public  lands;  that  is,  they  belonged  to  the  people 
of  the  nation  as  a  whole.  The  common  interest  in  these  public 
lands  was  one  of  the  chief  influences  that  kept  the  thirteen 
states  united  under  one  government  during  the  troubled  times 
between  the  close  of  the  Revolution  and  the  adoption  of  the 
Constitution  in  1789.  As  time  went  on,  the  public  lands  of  the 
nation  were  increased  by  the  acquisition  of  new  territory.^ 
Of  the  3,600,000  square  miles  comprising  the  United  States  and 

1  Louisiana  Territory  was  acquired  in  1803,  Oregon  in  1805,  Florida  in  1812  and 
i8ig,  Texas  in  1845,  California  and  New  Mexico  in  1846-48,  the  Gadsden  Purchase 
in  1853,  Alaska  in  1867. 


198  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Alaska  more  than  three  fourths  has  at  some  time  been  pubHc 

land ;  but  of  this  there  now  remain,  exclusive  of  Alaska,  only 

about  360,000  square  miles,  much  of  which  is  forest  and  mineral 

land,  unsuitable  for  agriculture. 

To  turn  this  great  domain  with  all  its  resources  to  the  fullest 

service  of  the  nation  has  been  one  of  the  greatest  problems 

^.        ,    ,       with  which  our  government  has  had  to  deal.     In 

Disposal  of  ° 

the  public         the  early  part  of  our  history  various  plans  were 

lands  ^j.-g^  l^y  which  to  secure  the  occupancy  and  develop- 

ment of  the  agricultural  lands  by  farmers,  until  in  1862  the  first 
Homestead  Act  was  passed  by  Congress. 

About  10,000,000  acres  of  the  public  land  were  given  to  soldiers  who 
fought  in  the  Revolution  and  in  the  War  of  181 2  in  recognition  of  their 
service  to  their  country.  About  60,000,000  acres  were  later  given  to 
veterans  of  the  Mexican  War. 

Until  the  year  1800  the  plan  in  use  for  the  disposition  of  the  public  lands 
was  to  sell  large  areas  to  colonizing  companies,  with  the  expectation  that 
these  companies  would  find  settlers  to  whom  they  would  sell  the  land  in  small 
quantities  at  a  profit.  This  was  not  successful,  as  actual  settlers  found  it 
difficult  to  get  land  they  wanted  at  prices  they  could  afford. 

From  1800  to  1820  lands  were  sold  in  small  areas  on  credit.  Many  bought 
more  than  they  were  able  to  pay  for,  and  much  land  so  disposed  of  had  to 
be  taken  back  by  the  government. 

In  1820  a  third  plan  was  adopted:  That  of  seUing  land  for  cash  in  any 
quantity  to  any  purchaser.  This  led  to  speculation,  individuals  and  com- 
panies of  individuals  buying  recklessly,  without  intention  of  actual  settle- 
ment, but  with  the  purpose  of  selling  again  at  a  profit.  This  brought  on  a 
financial  panic  in  1837. 

Then  followed  the  "^rcew/'/?ort  "  plan,  by  which  actual  settlers  could 
"preempt"  land  (get  the  first  right  to  it)  by  merely  taking  possession  and 
paying  a  cash  price  of  $1.25  an  acre. 

The  Homestead  Act  of  1862  was  an  extension  of  the  preemption  plan; 
but  instead  of  paying  a  cash  price,  the  settler  could  acquire  the  land  merely 
by  living  on  it  for  a  period  of  five  years  (now  three)  and  paying  fees  of 
about  $40.00. 

The  Homestead  Act,  like  earlier  laws,  made  a  direct  appeal 
to  men's  desire  to  earn  a  living,  to  acquire  property,  and  espe- 


THE   PEOPLE  AND   THE  LAND 


199 


cially  to  own  homes.     It  has  been  modified  from  time  to  time, 
but  in  all  essentials  it  still  remains  in  force  and  provides  that 
any  citizen  of  the  United  States  who  has  reached  the  Homestead 
age  of  twenty-one,  or  who  is  the  head  of  a  family,   ^^^^ 
may  acquire  a  farm  on  condition  of  living  upon  it  for  a  period 
of  three  years,  cultivating  the  land  and  erecting  a  dwelling,  and 


Homesteaders'  Shanties  in  South  Dakota 


pa)dng  to  the  government  a  small  fee.  The  size  of  the  farm 
that  he  may  so  acquire  varies  according  to  the  nature  of  the 
land,  but  the  usual  homestead  on  good  agricultural  land  is 
limited  to  160  acres. 

The  purpose  of  the  government  has  been  to  encourage  actual  settlement  in 
order  to  secure  the  development  of  the  nation's  resources,  and  for  this 
purpose  to  allow  each  settler  enough  land  to  enable  him  to  support  a  family 
in  comfort.     It  was  decided  that  160  acres  of  good  farm  land  was  enough. 

Some  portions  of  the  public  land,  however,  are  less  productive  than 
others.  Where  the  rainfall  is  slight  and  where  irrigation  is  impracticable, 
and  yet  where  crops  can  be  raised  by  the  "dry  farming"  process,  the  law 
allows  a  settler  to  take  320  acres. 

A  settler  may  also  obtain  320  acres  in  the  "desert  lands"  of  some  of  the 
western  states.     These  lands  may  be  made  productive  by  irrigation,  but  the 


200  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

settler  must  construct  his  own  irrigation  system.  Originally  640  acres 
were  allowed  in  such  lands,  but  the  amount  has  been  reduced  to  320  acres, 
and  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office  now  recommends  (1916) 
that  it  be  further  reduced  to  160  acres. 

In  those  parts  of  the  desert  region  which  the  government  has  already 
reclaimed  by  irrigation  (see  p.  213),  thus  making  the  land  extremely 
fruitful,  the  amount  usually  allowed  a  settler  is  from  40  to  80  acres. 


A  Homestead  on  Irrigated  ^  Land  in  Idaho 

Desert  land  in  foreground.       From  U.  S.  Reclamation  Service. 

There  are  regions  where  the  land  is  suitable  only  for  stock  raising  and  for 
forage  crops.  Here  Congress  has  decided  that  640  acres  is  a  fair  amount 
for  the  support  of  a  family. 

Lands  that  are  valuable  for  their  timber  and  mineral  resources  are- 
disposed  of  on  different  terms,  but  on  somewhat  the  same  principle. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  in  191 8  a  plan  was  proposed  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  to  secure  the  occupation  of  land  by 
Reclamation  returning  soldiers.  Since  the  lands  suitable  for 
of  lands  farming  in  their  natural  state  have  practically  all 

y  so   lers        \)qqyi  disposed  of,  the  plan  contemplates  the  recla- 
mation of  arid  and  swamp  lands,  and  of  land  from  which  the 


THE   PEOPLE  AND   THE   LAND  20I 

forests  have  been  cut  but  which  are  still  covered  with  stumps. 
It  is  proposed  that  returned  soldiers  shall  be  employed  by  the 
government  in  the  work  of  reclaiming  the  land,  and  that  those 
who  desire  to  become  farmers  may  buy  their  farms  in  the  re- 
claimed lands  at  a  reasonable  price,  and  with  a  period  of  thirty 
or  forty  years  in  which  to  pay  for  them.  The  Secretary  of  the 
Interior  said :  "This  plan  does  not  contemplate  anything  like 
charity  to  the  soldier.  ...  He  is  not  to  be  made  to  feel  that 
he  is  a  dependent.  On  the  contrary,  he  is  to  continue  in  a  sense 
in  the  service  of  the  Government.  Instead  of  destroying  our 
enemies  he  is  to  develop  our  resources."  Much  of  the  land 
whose  reclamation  by  and  for  returning  soldiers  is  thus  con- 
templated is  not  now  public  land,  but  is  lying  idle  in  the  hands 
of  private  owners. 

The  state  of  California  has  recently  enacted  a  law  known  as 
the  Land  Settlement  Act,  which  provides  for  "a  demonstration 
in  planned  rural  development."     "Its  first  idea  is   j^and  settle- 
educational,   to  show  what  democracy  in  action  ment  in 
can  accomplish."     Under  the  terms  of  this  act  the     ^   ^^'^ 
state  acting  through  a  Land  Settlement  Board  and  with  the 
cooperation  of  experts  from  the  University  of  California,  has 
purchased  several  thousand  acres  of  land  at  Durham,  in  Butte 
County,  which  it  sells  to  settlers  on  easy  terms.     It  also  lends 
money  to  settlers  for  improvement  and  equipment  for  the 
farmers. 

The  California  Land  Settlement  Act  is  significant,  because  it  eliminates 
speculation,  it  aims  to  create  fixed  communities  by  anticipating  and  pro- 
viding those  things  essential  to  early  and  enduring  success. 

Another  feature  is  the  use  it  makes  of  cooperation.  The  settlers  are  at 
the  outset  brought  into  close  business  and  social  relations.  It  reproduces 
the  best  feature  of  the  New  England  town  meeting,  as  every  member  of  the 
community  has  a  share  in  the  discussions  and  planning  for  the  general 
welfare.  This  influence  in  rural  life  has  been  lacking  in  new  communities 
in  recent  years.  In  the  great  movement  of  people  westward  with  its  profligate 
disposal  of  public  land,  settlement  became  migratory  and  speculative. 


202  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

Every  man  was  expected  to  look  out  for  himself.  Rural  neighborhoods 
became  separated  into  social  and  economic  strata.  There  was  the  non- 
resident landowner;  the  influential  resident  landowner;  the  tenant,  aloof 
and  indifferent  to  community  improvements ;  and,  below  that,  the  farm 
laborer  who  had  no  social  status  and  who  in  recent  years,  because  of  lack 
of  opportunity  and  social  recognition,  has  migrated  into  the  cities  where  he 
could  have  independence  and  self-respect,  or  has  degenerated  into  a  hobo. 
At  Durham,  for  the  first  time  in  American  land  settlement,  the  farm 
laborer  who  works  for  wages  is  recognized  as  having  as  useful  and  valuable 
a  part  in  rural  economy  as  the  farm  owner.  The  provisions  made  for  his 
home  are  intended  to  give  to  his  wife  and  children  comfort,  independence, 
and  self-respect ;  in  other  words,  the  things  that  help  create  character  and 
sustain  patriotism.  The  farm  laborers'  homes  already  built  are  one  of  the 
most  attractive  features  of  the  settlement;  and  when  the  community  mem- 
bers gather  together,  as  they  do,  to  discuss  matters  that  affect  the  progress 
of  the  settlement,  or  to  arrange  for  cooperative  buying  and  selling,  the  farm 
laborer  and  his  family  are  active  and  respected  members  of  the  meetings. 

From  maps  in  school  histories  study  the  claims  of  the  seven  states  to 
western  lands  fsee  p.  197  above). 

What  is  the  Ordinance  of  1787? 

Make  reports  on  the  circumstances  connected  with  our  various  territorial 
acquisitions. 

From  whom  did  the  colonists  get  the  right  to  the  land  in  the  original 
thirteen  colonies? 

Do  you  know  any  one  who  has  ever  taken  up  a  "homestead  claim"?  If 
so,  learn  how  it  was  done. 

If  possible,  get  a  description  of  a  "land  lottery"  and  a  "land  rush"  in 
newly  opened  public  lands. 

Get  all  the  information  you  can  about  the  plan  to  provide  land  for  the 
soldiers,  referred  to  above.  Do  you  think  this  is  a  better  plan  than  that 
of  giving  land  to  soldiers  outright?  Why?  Is  your  state  likely  to  co- 
operate with  the  national  government  in  carrying  out  this  plan?     How? 

The  policy  of  the  government  of  disposing  of  the  pubHc 

lands  to  individuals  has  of  course  been  of  great  benefit  to  the 

„.        ..    ,       latter ;  but  we  should  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that 
The  nation  s  '  ° 

interests  the  national  well-being  is  the  first  consideration, 

are  first  ^^  ^.j^^  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Ofiice 

said  in  a  recent  report  (191 6),  "Every  acre  of  pubhc  land  dis- 


THE  PEOPLE  AND   THE   LAND  203 

posed  of  under  this  line  of  legislation  is  an  investment,  the 
profits  to  be  found  in  the  general  development  of  the  welfare 
of  the  nation  at  large." 

It  has  been  no  simple  matter  to  administer  our  pubhc  lands, 
and  mistakes  have  been  made.  Sometimes  the  interests  of 
individuals  have  not  been  sufficiently  safeguarded,  safeguarding 
Many  settlers  have  suffered  serious  loss,  and  many  the  interests 
promising  communities  have  failed,  through  the  o  ^^  ^^  " 
taking  of  homesteads  in  regions  of  little  rainfall,  as  in  western 
Kansas  and  Nebraska.  The  government  now  seeks  to  protect 
homesteaders  against  such  errors  by  distinguishing  carefully 
between  lands  suitable  for  ordinary  agriculture  and  those  suit- 
able only  for  dry-farming  and  stock-raising,  by  informing  pro- 
spective settlers  in  regard  to  the  facts,  and  by  allowing  larger 
entries  in  lands  of  the  latter  classes  (see  p.  199).  Another 
mistake  was  made  in  allowing  many  of  the  first  claimants  to 
stock-raising  lands  so  to  locate  their  claims  as  to  acquire  the 
exclusive  use  of  the  only  available  water  supply  for  miles  around, 
thus  making  useless  other  large  tracts.  This  might  have  been 
avoided  by  a  little  foresight. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  land  laws  have  sometimes  been 
abused.  Large  quantities  of  public  land  have  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  speculators  whose  purpose  is  not  to  develop  Abuse  of 
its  resources,  but  to  make  a  profit  from  the  in-  ^^^^  ^^^^ 
creased  value  of  the  land  due  to  the  efforts  of  others  (see  p. 
18).  Immense  areas  of  land  have  thus  been  withheld  from 
production,  or  have  been  made  to  produce  to  a  limited  extent 
only,  to  the  great  loss  of  the  nation. 

In  the  days  of  transcontinental  railroad  building,  large  tracts 
of  land  were  given  to  the  railroad  companies  by  the  government, 
with  the  expectation  that  they  would  dispose  of  it  Railroad 
at  reasonable  prices  to  settlers  attracted  by  the   ^^^^^ 
new  transportation  facilities,  and  would  use  the  proceeds  in 
railway  development.     In  fact,  however,  large  quantities  of 


204  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

this  land  have  been  held  in  an  unproductive  state  for  speculative 
purposes. 

An  illustration  of  this  is  the  case  of  the  Oregon  and  California  Railroad 
land  grant,  made  by  Congress  in  1869  and  1870,  and  comprising  more  than 
4,200,000  acres,  most  of  which  bore  a  heavy  growth  of  valuable  timber. 
"This  railroad  grant  .  .  .  contained  a  special  provision  to  the  effect  that 
the  railroad  company  should  sell  the  land  it  received  to  actual  settlers  only, 
in  quantities  not  greater  than  one-quarter  section  to  one  purchaser  and  at  a 
price  not  exceeding  $2.50  an  acre.  By  this  precaution  it  was  intended  that 
in  aiding  the  construction  of  the  railroad  an  immediate  impetus  should 
also  be  given  to  the  settlement  and  development  of  the  country  through 
which  the  road  was  to  be  constructed." 

After  selling  some  of  the  lands  according  to  the  terms  of  the  agreement, 
the  railroad  company  ceased  to  live  up  to  these  terms  and  sold  large  bodies 
of  the  land  to  lumber  interests,  thus  putting  a  stop  to  the  development  of 
the  region  in  the  way  intended  by  the  government.  The  government 
brought  action  against  the  railroad  company,  the  outcome  of  which  is  that 
the  government  has  bought  back  from  the  company  at  $2.50  an  acre  all  of  the 
lands  of  the  grant  which  remained  unsold,  amounting  to  about  2,300,000  acres 
and  valued  at  from  $30,000,000  to  $50,000,000. 

These  lands  are  being  classified  "in  accordance  with  their  chief  value, 
either  in  power-site  lands,  timber  lands,  or  agricultural  lands,"  and  are  to  be 
disposed  of  accordingly.  The  timber  will  be  sold  separately  from  the  land, 
and  the  land  will  then  be  opened  to  homestead  entry. 

By  this  arrangement  the  railroad  company  gets  for  the  land  all  that 
it  was  entitled  to  under  the  terms  of  the  original  grant.  In  addition, 
provision  is  made  for  the  payment  to  the  counties  in  which  the  land 
lies  of  the  taxes  which  the  railroad  company  has  not  paid.  As  the 
lands  are  sold,  the  proceeds  are  to  be  divided  between  the  state  and 
the  United  States,  the  state  receiving  50  per  cent,  40  per  cent  being 
paid  into  the  general  reclamation  fund  of  the  United  States  (see  Chapter 
XIV,  p.  213),  and  10  per  cent  into  the  general  funds  of  the  United  States 
Treasury. 

(From  the  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  OfBce,  1916, 
pp.  46-49-) 

This  is  a  striking  illustration  of  how  our  government,  acting  through  Con- 
gress, the  Courts,  and  the  General  Land  Office  of  the  Department  of  the 
Interior,  has  sought  to  obtain  justice  for  all  parties  concerned,  and  to  fulfill 
the  original  purpose  of  securing  the  development  of  the  land  in  the  interest  of 
the  state  and  the  nation. 


THE  PEOPLE  AND  THE  LAND  205 

Something  like  133,000,000  acres  of  our  public  lands  have 
from  time  to  time  been  turned  over  to  the  states,  the  proceeds 
to  be  used  for  the  promotion  of  public  education,  ^ands  for 
for  the  construction  of  roads,  and  for  other  pur-   public 
poses  (see  Chapters  XVII  and  XIX).     In  some  ^'^^""^^ 
cases  these  lands  have  not  been  used  altogether  for  the  purposes 
for  which  they  were  granted.     School  land's  have  sometimes  been 
sold  at  a  nominal  price  to  individuals  who  have  reaped  the 
profit,  whereas  the  lands  might  have  been  so  administered  by 
the  states  as  to  have  brought  large    returns  for  educational 
purposes.     In   some   cases,   state   officials  have   made   unwise 
investments  of  the  funds  derived  from  the  sale  of  the  lands, 
thereby  losing  them  for  the  use  of  the  state. 

The  control,  or  "monopohzing,"  of  the  public  land  by  large 
holders  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  causes  of  increasing  tenantry 
(Chapter  X,  p.  116);  for  as  the  available  supply  L^nd  monop- 
of  desirable  farming  land  is  diminished,  the  actual  oiy  and 
home-seeker  is  driven  to  take  less  productive  lands,    ^^^^  ^^ 
or  to  purchase  from  the  large  holders  at  a  higher  price.     The 
more  recent  land  laws  limit  the  amount  of  public  land  that  an 
individual  may  acquire  to  an  area  sufficient  to  enable  him  to 
make  a  comfortable  living  for  a  family  (see  above,  p.  199). 
They  also  exact  from  the  homesteader  an  agreement  that  he 
will  actually  occupy  and  cultivate  the  land. 

The  responsibility  for  the  defects  in  our  methods  of  admin- 
istering the  public  lands  rests  in  part  upon  our  governmental 
representatives,  who  have  not  always  dealt  wisely  Responsibility 
with  the  extremely  diflficult  problem.  But  it  rests  for  land 
also  upon  each  individual  citizen.  There  are  ^^^ 
those,  be  it  said  to  our  shame,  who  deliberately  seek  to  defeat 
the  purpose  of  the  laws  and  to  appropriate  to  their  own  selfish 
uses  the  lands  which  belong  to  the  nation  as  a  whole.  There 
is  one  division  of  the  General  Land  Office  in  Washington  known 
as  the  Contest  Division.     Before  it  come,  not  only  the  ordinary 


2o6 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


disputes  that  are  likely  to  arise  between  rival  claimants,  but 
also  cases  of  alleged  fraud  and  violation  of  the  land  laws.  In 
the  year  1916  more  than  12,000  cases  oj  alleged  fraud  were  acted 
upon,  and  nearly  12,000  other  cases  awaited  action  at  the  end  of 
the  year!  But  the  responsibility  comes  much  closer  home  than 
this.    Many  of  us  who  would  not  think  of  violating  the  law 


Fraudulent  Land  Claims 

The  land  shown  in  the  illustrations  was  claimed  under  the  Homestead  Act  as 
agricultural  land.     It  bore  many  thousands  of  dollars  worth  of  valuable  timber. 

have  failed  to  appreciate  the  value  of  the  gifts  that  nature  has 
given  us,  and  have  apparently  been  "too  busy"  to  inform  our- 
selves as  to  whether  or  not  our  public  lands  have  been  admin- 
istered solely  for  the  purpose  to  which  Congress  devoted  them 
just  after  the  Revolution  (see  p.  197).  This,  like  every  other 
matter  of  community  interest,  requires  team  work. 

The  community  has  certain  rights  to  a  citizen's  land  that 
are  clearly  recognized  as  superior  to  the  citizen's  rights.  Acting 
through  its  government^  it  may  take  a  part  of  a  citizen's  property 


THE  PEOPLE  AND  THE  LAND  207 

by  taxation  (see  Chapter  XXIII).  Taxes  are  paid  in  money; 
but  if  a  citizen  does  not  pay  the  tax  upon  his  land,  the  govern- 
ment may  sell  the  land  for  enough  to  cover  the  obligation. 

Again,  the  government  may  take  a  citizen's  land  for  public 
uses,  if  the  interests  of  the  community  demand  it,  by  what  is 
called  the  right  of  eminent  domain.     For  example,   ^j^^  .^^ 
if  the  interests  of  the  community  demand  that  a  of  eminent 
new  road  be  built,  the  government  will  seek  to  buy     °™*'° 
the  necessary  land  from  the  farmers  along  the  line  of  the  pro- 
posed highway.     Some  farmer  may  say  that  he  does  not  want 
the  road  to  run  through  his  farm,  or  he  may  try  to  get  a  price 
beyond  what  his  land  is  worth.     The  government  may  then 
condemn  the  required  land  and  fix  a  price  despite  the  farmer's 
objections.     The  citizen  whose  land  is  taken  must,  however,  be 
paid  for  it ;    the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  protects  him 
by  the  provision,  "  nor  shall  private  property  be  taken  for  public 
use  without  just  compensation  "  (Amendment  V,  last  clause). 

The  right  of  eminent  domain  may  be  exercised  to  secure  a 
site  for  a  schoolhouse,  a  post-office,  an  army  post,  or  court- 
house, or  for  any  other  public  purpose.  The  government  also 
authorizes  corporations  that  perform  a  public  service  to  exer- 
cise the  right,  as  in  the  case  of  railroads  which  must  obtain  a 
right  of  way  for  their  tracks,  and  sites  for  their  yards  and  stations. 

Finally,  by  the  exercise  of  what  is  known  as  the  police  power, 
the  government  may  control  the  use  to  which  a  citizen  may 
put  his  land.     Occasion  for  the  exercise  of  the  ^j^^  police 
police  power  arises  most  frequently  in  cities,  where  power  of  the 
it  is  necessary  to  control  the  construction  of  build-   8°^®'"'"°®° 
ings  for  fire  protection,  and  to  regulate  the  kinds  of  business 
that   may   be   conducted.     In   country   districts   it   does   not 
usually  make  so  much  difference  what  a  man  does  on  his  own 
land;    but  even  there  the  police  power  may  be  exercised,  as 
when  the  state  of  Idaho  passed  a  law  forbidding  the  herding  of 
sheep  within  a  certain  distance  of  towns. 


2o8  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

There  is  another  way  in  which  government  estabhshes  rela- 
tions between  the  people  and  the  land.  Citizens  of  the  United 
Political  States  have  certain  political  rights  and  duties,  such 

relations  with    as  voting,  holding  office,  and  paying  taxes.     These 
*°  rights  may  be  enjoyed  and  the  duties  performed 

only  within  certain  districts  which  the  government  creates 
for  this  purpose.  Thus,  a  citizen  has  a  right  to  vote  within  the 
state  where  he  lives,  but  not  in  any  other  state.  He  must  cast 
his  vote  within  his  own  county,  township,  and  precinct.  The 
boundaries  of  the  states  are  established  by  the  national  govern- 
ment (except  the  original  thirteen  states  of  the  Union,  whose 
boundaries  were  fixed  before  the  national  government  was 
organized) ;  but  they  may  not  be  changed  afterward  without 
the  consent  of  the  states  affected.  The  states  organize  their 
own  counties  and  townships  ^  and  other  districts.  Villages  and 
cities  are  granted  definite  boundaries  by  the  state,  and  organize 
themselves  into  wards  and  precincts.  There  are  legislative, 
congressional,  judicial,  and  revenue  districts,  the  boundaries  of 
which  are  fixed  by  state  and  national  governments.  Locally, 
there  are  school  districts.  The  boundaries  which  separate  one 
nation  from  another  are  determined  by  agreement,  or  treaty, 
between  the  nations  concerned.  Uncertainty  or  indefiniteness 
in  regard  to  national  boundary  lines  has  been  the  cause  of  much 
international  strife,  and  was  an  important  factor  in  the  Euro- 
pean war  begun  by  Germany  in  1914. 

If  you  live  in  a  "public  land"  state,  for  what  uses  have  public  lands 
been  given  to  the  state?  Have  the  school  lands  in  your  state  been  wisely 
used? 

Is  it  easy  for  a  young  man  to  acquire  a  farm  in  your  locality?  to  keep 
up  improvements  on  a  farm  that  he  owns  ?  Has  it  been  easy  for  a  farmer 
in  your  locality  to  borrow  money?     (Consult  parents  and  friends.) 

Have  the  farmers  of  your  locality  made  much  use  of  the  Federal  Farm 
Loan  Act  ?     Do  they  think  it  is  a  good  law  ? 

*  In  the  public  land  states  the  political  township  usually,  but  not  always,  corre- 
sponds with  the  township  surveyed  by  the  national  government.     See  pp.  i94-ig6. 


THE  PEOPLE  AND   THE  LAND  209 

Have  you  heard  of  forced  sales  of  land  in  your  community  to  pay  taxes? 

Do  you  know  of  cases  of  the  exercise  of  the  right  of  eminent  domain  in 
your  community?  For  what  purposes?  Was  it  exercised  by  local,  state, 
or  national  government? 

In  what  ways  does  government  control  the  use  to  which  you  may  put  the 
land  on  which  you  live? 

In  what  township  do  you  live?  school  district?  congressional  dis- 
trict? state  legislative  district?  revenue  district? 

READINGS 

Annual  reports  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior. 

Annual  reports  of  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office,  Department  of  the 

Interior,  Washington. 
The  General  Land  Office  has  published  a  large  wall  map  showing  the  land  surveys, 

the  national  forests,  and  many  other  important  items.     It  may  be  secured  from 

the  Superintendent  of  Documents,  Government  Printing  Office,  Washington, 

for$i. 
See  the  New   International   Encyclopedia  and   the   Encyclopedia  Americana  on 

public  lands,  national  forests,  and  other  topics  referred  to  in  this  chapter. 
In  Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life : 

Series  A :   Lesson  4,  What  nature  has  done  for  a  typical  city. 


CHAPTER  XV 
CONSERVING   OUR  NATURAL   RESOURCES 

In  the  preceding  chapter  we  learned  that  as  a  nation  we 
have  not  been  altogether  thrifty  in  the  disposal  and  use  of 
Resources  of  our  public  lands.  The  same  thing  will  have  to  be 
the  soil  said  regarding  the  use  of  the  resources  of  the  land, 

of  which  the  soil  is  by  far  the  most  valuable. 

It  is  said  that  1200  boys  in  Ohio,  organized  in  clubs,  increased 
the  average  yield  of  corn  from  35  bushels  to  81  bushels  per 
acre.  The  average  returns  per  acre  from  the  soil  of  the  United 
States  were  lower  before  the  war  than  in  any  European  country, 
except  Russia.  The  following  table  gives  the  production  per 
acre  of  four  cereals  in  the  United  States  and  five  European 
countries  in  1913.  The  same  relative  position  of  the  United 
States  would  be  shown  if  we  took  the  average  production  of 
these  countries  for  a  series  of  years. 

Production  in  Bushels  per  Acre  under  Cultivation 

IN  1913  ^ 


Wheat 

Oats 

Barley 

Rye 

United  States      .     .     . 

France       

British  Isles  .... 
Austria-Hungary       .     . 

Germany 

Belgium 

15.2 
19.8 
32.6 
19s 
350 
37-5 

29.2 
31-6 
48.1 
33-2 
61.0 
71.4 

238 
24-5 
351 
27.0 
46.1 
50.2 

16.2 
17.0 
27.0 
21.2 
30-3 
35-0 

1  Compiled  from  tables  in  the  Year  Book  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 

210 


CONSERVING  OUR  NATURAL  RESOURCES  21 1 

The  low  position  of  the  United  States  in  agriculture  is  by  no 

means  due  to  inferior  ability  on  the  part  of  the  ^^jju^  ^f  ^Y^^ 

American  farmer.     The  Secretary  of  Agriculture  American 
,1     ,  farmer 

says  that 

Even  now  no  farmer  in  the  world  can  compare  with  the  American  farmer 
in  agricultural  efficiency.  His  adaptability  to  new  and  changing  conditions, 
to  the  use  of  improved  machinery  and  processes,  coupled  with  the  great 
natural  resources  with  which  the  nation  is  endowed,  make  him  far  superior 
to  any  of  his  competitors.  It  is  true  that  he  does  not  produce  more  per 
acre  than  the  farmers  of  some  other  nations.  Production  per  acre,  however, 
is  not  the  American  standard.  The  standard  is  the  amount  of  production 
for  each  person  engaged  in  agriculture,  and  by  this  test  the  American 
farmer  appears  to  be  from  two  to  six  times  as  efficient  as  most  of  his 
competitors. 

As  long  as  we  had  a  great  abundance  of  unoccupied  land  it 
would  perhaps  have  been  uneconomic  to  increase  the  produc- 
tion of  that  which  was  occupied  by  the  costly  Wastefulness  ' 
methods  of  agriculture  used  in  Belgium,  Germany,  of  early 
and  other  thickly  settled  countries.  But  the  old  *^™^°g 
methods  of  farming  not  only  failed  to  get  from  the  soil  all  that 
it  was  then  capable  of  producing,  they  also  robbed  it  of  fertility 
without  restoring  to  it  what  was  taken  from  it.  Thus  the  loss 
caused  by  wasteful  methods  was  passed  on  to  future  generations. 
To  continue  such  methods  in  the  light  of  our  present  knowledge 
and  with  our  growing  population  is  thriftless  in  the  extreme. 
Methods  of  preserving  and  restoring  the  fertility  of  the  soil 
and  of  obtaining  the  largest  returns  from  it  are  now  receiving 
the  most  careful  attention  from  both  state  and  national 
governments. 

A  great  deal  of  land  lies  idle  that  might  be  productive  of 

food  —  not  only  arid,  swamp,  and  cut-over  lands,  mentioned 

in  later  paragraphs,  and  land  held  for  speculation, 

,  iTi  11,  ,...        Idle  lands 

but  also  vacant  lots  and  unused  back  yards  in  cities 

and  villages,  and  waste  or  unused  portions  of  cultivated  farms. 

It  is  largely  from  city  and  village  lots  that  the  School  Garden 


212 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


Army  obtained  its  remarkable  results.  It  is  astonishing  how 
many  farmers  buy  instead  of  raising  their  vegetables  for  the 
table,  as  well  as  feed  for  their  stock- 
Texas,  for  instance,  has  purchased  $200,000,000  worth  of  food  products 
yearly  from  northern  markets  which  might  have  been  produced  more 
cheaply  at  home.  It  takes  15  to  20  acres  of  land  in  Texas  to  grow  cotton 
enough  to  buy  160  bushels  of  canned  sweet  potatoes,  while  one  "acre  of 
Texas  soil  would  produce  the  same  quantity,  and  uncanned.^ 


Desert  Land 
Covered  with  sagebrush ;  capable  of  irrigation.     U.  S.  Reclamation  Service. 

Such  topics  as  the  following  should  be  studied,  consulting  parents,  farmers 
of  the  locality,  and  such  printed  sources  of  information  as  are  available. 

The  important  cereal  crops  of  your  state.  The  average  yield  per  acre 
of  each.     Increase  or  decrease  in  yield  in  recent  years. 

The  work  of  corn  clubs  and  other  boys'  and  girls'  clubs  to  increase  the 
yield  of  crops  in  your  state. 


•  Thrift,  a  monograph  published  by  the  National  Education  Association,  19 18. 


CONSERVING  OUR  NATURAL  RESOURCES  213 

The  difference  between  "production  per  acre"  and  "production  per 
person  engaged  in  agriculture"  (see  p.  211). 

The  difference  between  "intensive"  and  "extensive"  agriculture. 

"Single  crop"  and  "diversified  crop"  types  of  agriculture  in  your 
locality.     Advantages  of  each. 

Extent  to  which  farmers  of  your  locality  raise  their  own  table  vegetables 
and  stock  feed. 

Evidence  furnished  by  your  town,  or  neighboring  towns,  during  the  war, 
of  the  wealth-producing  power  of  vacant  lots  or  unused  back-yards. 

Much  of  our  public  land  has  been  non-productive  solely 
because  of  the  lack  of  moisture.  In  1902  a  law  known  as  the 
Reclamation  Act  was  passed  by  Congress,  providing  Reclamation 
that  the  proceeds  from  the  sale  of  public  lands  in  of  arid 
states  containing  arid  regions/  except  such  as  were  *°  ^ 
already  devoted  to  educational  and  other  public  purposes, 
should  be  used  for  the  construction  and  maintenance  of  irriga- 
tion works.  This  reclamation  work  is  in  charge  of  the  Recla- 
mation Service  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  whose  engi- 
neers have  built  great  dams  and  reservoirs  from  which  the  water 
has  been  led  by  canals  and  ditches  into  the  desert.  By  19 16 
more  than  1,000,000  acres  had  been  irrigated  under  this  act, 
the  crop  value  in  that  year  reaching  $35,000,000.  The  re- 
claimed land  is  disposed  of  to  actual  settlers  in  accordance  with 
the  homestead  laws  (see  p.  199),  each  homesteader  repaying 
the  government  in  annual  installments  the  cost  of  reclaiming 
the  land  he  occupies.  The  fund  so  created  is  used  by  the 
government  for  further  reclamation  projects.  The  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  sends  its  experts  to  advise  with  the  farmers 
in  regard  to  the  problems  peculiar  to  the  reclaimed  regions. 
"Every  effort  should  be  and  is,  therefore,  being  made  to  pro- 
mote the  success  of  the  farmer,  and  on  the  basis  of  his  success 
to  increase  the  prosperity  of  the  country."  ^ 

'  The  states  to  which  this  law  applies  are  Arizona,  California,  Colorado,  Idaho, 
Kansas,  Montana,  Nebraska,  Nevada,  New  Mexico,  North  Dakota,  Oklahoma, 
Oregon,  South  Dakota,  Utah,  Washington,  and  Wyoming.     See  map. 

2  Report  of  the  Reclamation  Service,  1912-1913,  p.  4. 


214 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


The  Yuma  project  in  Arizona  opened  a  new  Valley  of  the  Nile  where  four 
crops  of  alfalfa  are  now.  raised  on  what  once  were  arid  lands.  The  streets 
of  Yuma  and  Somerton  are  crowded  with  the  automobiles  of  farmers, 
enriched  by  thousands  of  acres  of  splendid  long-staple  cotton,  alfalfa,  corn, 
and  feterita.  Another  irrigated  valley  in  Arizona,  that  of  the  Salt  River,  has 
few  superiors  in  the  world  and  has  come  in  three  years  into  great  prosperity. 
Arizona  planted  to  cotton  last  year  92,000  acres.  Its  crop  was  96  per  cent 
perfect,  the  best  record  in  the  United  States.^ 


Oats  Harvested  in  Reclaimed  Desert  Land,  Wyoming 
U.  S.  Reclamation  Service. 

The  principal  irrigation  projects  of  the  Reclamation  Service 
are  shown  on  the  accompanying  map. 

Five  or  six  times  as  much  arid  land  has  been  reclaimed  by 
private  enterprise  as  by  the  Reclamation  Service. 
The  first  extensive  irrigation  project  in  the  West 
was  a  cooperative  enterprise  by  the  Mormon  colo- 
nists in  Utah.     It  is  said  that  about  two  fifths 

Arthur  D.  Little,  "Developing  the  Estate,"  Atlantic  Monthly,  March,  1919. 


Reclamation 
by  states 
and  private 
enterprise 


CONSERVING  OUR   NATURAL  RESOURCES 


215 


of  the  land  irrigated  in  the  United  States  is  supplied  with 
water  by  works  built  and  controlled  by  individual  farmers  or 
by  a  few  neighbors,  while  another  one  third  is  supplied  by 
stock  companies.     As  early  as  1877  Congress  passed  "a  desert 


Principal  Reclamation  Service  Projects  in  the  Western  States 


land  law,"  by  which  homesteads  were  granted  in  the  arid  lands 
On  condition  that  the  settlers  should  irrigate  the  land.  In  1894 
the  Carey  Act  was  passed  by  Congress  under  which  the  national 
government  may  give  to  a  state  as  much  as  a  million  acres  of 
arid  public  land  within  its  borders,  on  condition  that  the  state 
provides  for  its  irrigation.  The  work  is  done  by  private  stock 
companies,  with  whom  the  state  makes  a  contract  for  the  pur- 


2i6  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

pose.  The  most  extensive  irrigation  project  undertaken  by 
private  enterprise  is  that  of  the  Imperial  Valley  in  California, 
which  derives  its  water  from  the  Colorado  River.  Under  the 
laws  of  California  the  Imperial  Valley  region  has  been  organized 
as  an  "irrigation  district,"  with  power  to  levy  taxes  for  the  de- 
velopment and  support  of  the  irrigation  work.  Each  state  in 
which  irrigation  is  practiced  has  its  own  laws  regulating  the  use 
of  water  by  farmers  and  other  consumers. 

The  theory  is  that  the  state  regulates  the  appropriation  of  the  water, 
exercising  this  power  and  holding  the  land  in  trust  for  the  public.  ...  It  is 
the  duty  of  every  state  to  which  the  Reclamation  Act  is  applicable  to  assist 
with  every  resource  under  its  control.^ 

Reference  has  been  made  in  Chapter  XIV  to  the  proposed 
plan  for  the  reclamation  and  settlement  of  new  areas  of  arid 
land  by  returning  soldiers. 

There  are  probably  80,000,000  acres  of  swamp  lands  in  the 

United  States  which  could  be  made  productive  by  drainage. 

Farmers  themselves  could  reclaim  much  of  this 

Swamp  lands    ^^^^  ^^  comparatively  small  cost,  greatly  increasing 

their  own  profit  and  the  wealth  of  the  country. 

One  farm  in  Wisconsin  has  40  acres  of  poorly  drained  land  that  in  its 
present  condition  is  practically  worthless.  $25.00  per  acre  spent  in  drainage 
will  make  this  40-acre  tract  the  equal  of  any  in  the  district,  and  good  land 
is  selling  there  at  $150.00  per  acre.- 

The  national  government  has  at  various  times  granted  to  the 
states  swamp  lands  aggregating  60,000,000  acres,  with  the  ex- 
pectation that  the  states  would  reclaim  them.  The  states 
have,  however,  done  very  little  to  fulfill  the  expectation.  These 
swamp  lands  are  among  those  whose  reclamation  by  returning 
soldiers  is  proposed  by  the  government. 

1  Water  Supply  Paper,  234,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Department  of  the  Interior, 
p.  66. 

2  "Unprofitable  Acres,"  in  Year  Book,  Department  of  Agriculture,  1915,  p.  i47- 


CONSERVING  OUR  NATURAL  RESOURCES 


217 


Investigate  and  report  on  the  following  topics : 

The  work  of  the  Reclamation  Service  of  the  national  government. 

If  you  live  in  one  of  the  states  to  which  the  Reclamation  Act  applies, 
report  on  what  has  been  accomplished  by  it  in  your  state. 

The  development  of  one  of  the  irrigation  projects  shown  on  the  map 
(p.  215). 

Irrigation  by  private  or  state  enterprise  in  your  state  (if  any),  and 
what  it  has  accomplished. 


Yakima  Reclamation  Project,  Washington 
U.  S.  Reclamation  Service. 


The  reclamation  of  Utah  by  the  Mormons. 

The  development  of  the  Imperial  Valley  of  California. 

The  laws  regulating  the  use  of  water  for  irrigation  in  your  state  (if  an 
irrigated  state). 

The  swamp  areas  in  your  locality  or  state.  Progress  made  in  their 
reclamation. 

The  reclamation  of  swamp  or  marshy  land  on  particular  farms  of  your 
locality. 


2i8  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

The  extent  of  idle  cut-over  land  in  your  locality,  why  it  is  idle,  the  uses 
to  which  it  could  be  put  if  reclaimed. 

By  the  construction  of  dams,  reservoirs,  and  canals  the  waters 

of  a  few  of  our  streams  are  turned  to  the  work  of  reclaiming 

land.     Our  unused  water  resources  are  very  great. 
Conservation  -^    '^ 

of  water  Niagara  Falls  have  been  harnessed  for  industrial 

power  uses,  and  with  only  a  small  part  of  their  power  in 

use  they  light  the  streets  and  houses,  run  the  street  cars,  and 
turn  the  wheels  of  industry  in  Buffalo  and  Toronto  and  the 
neighboring  region.  But  so  far  we  are  making  use  of  less  than 
lo  per  cent  of  the  power  easily  available  from  our  streams.  "  The 
water  now  flowing  idly  from  our  hills  to  the  sea  could  turn  every 
factory  wheel  and  every  electric  generator,  operate  our  railroads, 
and  still  leave  much  energy  to  spare  for  new  developments."  ^ 
It  is  probably  not  too  much  to  expect  that  when  our  undeveloped 
water  power  is  utilized  it  will  provide  electric  light  and  power 
for  every  farm  in  the  land.  Our  nation  has  allowed  many  of 
the  best  water  power  sites  of  the  country  to  fall  into  the  hands 
of  private  speculators  who  hold  them  undeveloped,  as  in  the 
case  of  farm  lands,  forests,  and  other  resources. 

Floods  are  not  only  immensely  destructive  of  property, 
causing  a  loss  of  $100,000,000  along  the  Mississippi  river 
C  ti  n     3,lone  in  a  single  year,  but  they  carry  to  the  sea 

of  flood  water  that  might  be  used  for  irrigation  and  for 

waters  industry.     Reservoirs,  such  as  are  built  for  irri- 

gating projects,  regulate  the  flow  of  water  in  streams  and  pre- 
vent floods.  In  New  England  and  New  York  reservoirs  have 
been  built  for  this  very  purpose,  and  probably  10  per  cent  of 
the  flood  waters  that  originate  in  these  states  is  saved  in  this 
way  and  turned  to  industrial  uses.  Similar  conservation  of 
flood  waters  occurs  in  Minnesota,  but  it  is  estimated  that  for 
the  country  as  a  whole  not  more  than  one  per  cent  of  the  flood 

1  Arthur  D.  Little,  "Developing  the  Estate,"  Atlantic  Monthly,  March,  1919, 
p.  388. 


CONSERVING  OUR  NATURAL  RESOURCES 


219 


waters  is  saved. ^  There  are  areas  in  which  the  reservoir  system 
is  impracticable,  as  in  the  lower  Mississippi  Valley.  Here  all 
that  can  be  done  is  to  protect  the  adjacent  land  by  means  of 
levees  while  controlling  the  floods  farther  up  the  valley. 

Larger  use  of  water  power  would  conserve  another  valuable 
resource  —  coal.     Of  this  fuel  we  have  vast  resources  —  "in 


Roosevelt  Dam  —  Salt  Rtver  Project 
U.  S.  Reclamation  Service. 


West  Virginia  alone  more  than  Great  Britain  and  Germany 
combined."     But  the  supply  is  not  inexhaustible  puel 
and  we  are  mining  it  and  using  it  in  an  extravagant  resources 
manner.     The  loss  here  is  not  merely  of  heat  and  power  and 
light,  but  of  many  valuable  products  of  coal,  including  dyes, 
ammonia,  vaseline,  and  many  others. 

'  "  Conservation  of  Water  Resources,"  Water  Supply  Paper  234,  U.  S.  Geological 
Survey,  1919. 


220 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


Floods  are  increasing  in  the  United  States.  This  is  due 
chiefly  to  the  destruction  of  our  forests  by  wasteful  lumbering 
Destruction  and  by  fire.  In  forested  areas  the  ground  absorbs 
by  floods  the  rainfall  more  easily,  while  in  areas  barren  of 

trees  and  other  vegetation  it  runs  oflf  the  surface.     The  destruc- 
tion of  the  forests,  therefore,  involves  not  only  the  loss  of  the 


Main  Canal,  Tieton  Canon,  Yakima  Project 
U.  S.  Reclamation  Service. 

timber,  but  also  the  loss  caused  by  the  floods,  including  the 
washing  away  of  the  soil. 

In  1891  Congress  authorized  the  President  to  establish 
"forest  reserves,"  the  first  to  be  created  being  the  "Yellowstone 
The  forest  Park  Timberland  Reserve."  From  time  to  time 
reserves  new  reserves  were  established,  and  in   1907   the 

name  was  changed  to  the  National  Forests.  In  1917,  more 
than  176  million  acres  were  included  within  the  National  Forest 
boundaries,  21  milUon  acres  of  which,  however,  belonged  to 


CONSERVING  OUR  NATURAL  RESOURCES 


221 


private  owners.  They  are  administered  by  the  Forest  Service 
of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  at  the  head  of  which 
is  the  Chief  Forester.  They  are  grouped  in  seven  districts 
with  a  district  forester  in  charge  of  each.  Over  each  of  the 
150  forests  in  the  seven  districts  there  is  a  forest  supervisor; 
and  each  forest  is  further  subdivided  into  ranger  districts  under 


Applying  Water  to  the  Land — -Direct  iRRiGATinx 
Government  Farm,  Grand  Valley  Project.     U.  S.  Reclamation  Service. 

district  rangers  who  not  only  look  after  timber  sales  and  the 
use  of  the  forests  generally,  but  also  "help  build  roads,  trails, 
bridges,  telephone  lines,  and  other  permanent  improvements." 

A  ranger  must  naturally  be  sound  in  body,  for  he  is  called  upon  to  work 
for  long  periods  in  all  kinds  of  weather.  He  must  also  know  how  to  pack 
supplies  and  find  food  for  himself  and  his  horse  in  a  country  where  it  is  often 
scarce.  Besides  a  written  test,  prospective  rangers  are  examined  in  compass 
surveying,  timber  work,  and  the  handling  of  horses.^ 

1  "Government  Forest  Work,"  Forest  Service,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture, 
P-  15- 


2  22  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

There  are  also  employed  in  the  Forests  great  numbers  of  log- 
ging engineers,  lumbermen,  scalers,  planting  assistants,  guards, 
and  others.  In  the  great  war,  the  Forest  Service  raised  two  regi- 
ments of  men  who  went  to  France  to  assist  in  the  various 
kinds  of  forestry  work  necessitated  by  the  war. 

The  purpose  of  the  Forest  Service  is  to  secure  the  use  of  the 
forests  "in  such  a  way  that  they  will  yield  all  their  resources 
Work  of  ^°  ^^^  fullest  extent  without  exhausting  them,  for 

the  Forest         the  benefit  primarily  of  the  home  builder.     The 
^'^^'*^®  controlling  policy  is  serving  the  public  while  con- 

serving the  forests."  ^  Timber  is  cut  and  sold,  but  always 
with  a  view  to  developing  future  growth.  The  forests  are 
protected  against  fire.  Burned-over  areas  are  reforested  by 
planting.  Water  power  sites  are  protected.  The  freest  pos- 
sible use  of  forest  pasture  land  is  permitted,  but  under  such 
regulations  as  to  prevent  injury  to  the  forests  and  the  denudation 
of  the  land  by  overgrazing.  In  191 5,  nine  million  cattle, 
horses,  sheep,  and  goats  were  pastured  in  the  forests.  In  1916 
it  was  said  that  "more  than  20  million  dollars  will  probably 
be  spent  in  the  next  ten  years  in  building  good  roads  in  the 
National  Forests."  ^ 

Waste  of  -^^^  ^^^  timber   resources   are   not   all   in   the 

timber  National  Forests,  and  the  waste  continues  to  an 

resources  n-  ^      t- 

appallmg  extent. 

With  a  total  annual  cut  of  40,000,000,000  feet,  board-measure,  of  mer- 
chantable lumber,  another  70,000,000,000  feet  are  wasted  in  the  field  and 
at  the  mill.  In  the  yellow-pine  belt  the  values  in  rosin,  turpentine,  ethyl 
alcohol,  pine  oil,  tar,  charcoal,  and  paper  stock  lost  in  the  waste  are  three 
or  four  times  the  value  of  the  lumber  produced.  Enough  yellow-pine 
pulp-wood  is  consumed  in  burners,  or  left  to  rot,  to  make  double  the  total 
tonnage  of  paper  produced  in  the  United  States. 

1  "The  Status  of  Forestry  in  the  United  States,"  Forest  Service  Circular  167, 
1909,  p.  5. 

2  "Opening  up  the  National  Forests  by  Road  Building,"  Year  Book  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  1916.     Also  reprinted  in  separate  Leaflet  No.  696. 


CONSERVING  OUR   NATURAL  RESOURCES  223 

But  the  wastes  in  lumbering,  colossal  though  they  are  in  absolute  amount, 
are  trivial  compared  to  the  losses  which  our  estate  has  suffered,  and  still 
endures,  from  forest  fires.  The  French  properly  regard  as  a  national  calam- 
ity the  destruction  of  perhaps  a  thousand  square  miles  of  their  fine  forests 
by  German  shells.  And  yet  the  photographs  that  they  show  of  this  wreck 
and  utter  demolition  may  be  reproduced  indefinitely  on  10,000,000  acres  of 
our  forest  lands  swept  each  year  by  equally  devastating  fire  for  which  our 
own  people  are  responsible.  You  have  doubtless  already  forgotten  that 
forest  fire  which  last  autumn,  in  Minnesota,  burned  over  an  area  half  as 
large  again  as  Massachusetts,  destroying  more  than  twenty-five  towns, 
killing  400  people,  and  leaving  13,000  homeless.^ 

The  nation  has  been  defrauded  of  a  great  deal  of  wealth  in 
timber  by  speculators  who  have  taken  advantage  of  the  home- 
stead laws.  ^ 

Single  tracts  of  160  acres  often  have  a  value  for  the  timber  alone  of 
$20,000.  .  .  .  Lands  acquired  .  .  .  under  the  guise  of  the  homestead  law 
are  to-day  in  the  hands  of  lumber  companies  who  promptly  purchased  them 
from  the  settlers  as  soon  as  the  title  passed,  and  are  either  reserving  them 
for  later  cutting  or  are  holding  the  land  itself  after  cutting  for  from  $40 
to  $60  an  acre,  or  even  more  —  a  speculative  process  which  effectively  pre- 
vents the  possibility  of  men  of  small  means  acquiring  and  establishing 
homes  there.- 

To  prevent  this  sort  of  thing,  the  government  now  sells  the 
timber  and  the  land  separately,  withholding  from  agricultural 
entry  heavily  timbered  land  until  the  timber  is  cut  off. 

In  the  Kaniksy  National  Forest,  in  Idaho  and  Washington,  timber 
sales  have  been  made  to  include  much  of  the  remaining  agricultural  timber- 
land.  Within  eight  years  fully  10,000  acres  of  land  will  be  made  available 
for  settlement.  Permanent  homes  will  be  established  and  there  will  be 
available  for  the  use  of  the  communities  approximately  $225,000  for  roads 
and  schools,  their  share  of  the  proceeds  from  the  sale  of  the  timber.^ 

1  "Developing  the  Estate,"  Atlantic  Monthly,  March,  igig,  pp.  384-385- 

2  "The  National  Forests  and  the  Farmer,"  in  Year  Book,  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, igi4,  p.  70. 

^  Ibid.,  p.  71. 


224 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


(XA'SST^'bS^iiit'^.^m^s^Mi^. 


Unprofitable  Acres  Mabe  Profitable  in  Massachusetts 


CONSERVING  OUR  NATURAL  RESOURCES 


225 


State  forests 


Besides  the  National  Forests,  there  are  more  than  4,000,000 
acres  of  state  forests}  Twenty-four  states  have  forestry  depart- 
ments, sometimes  under  a  state  board  or  a  commis- 
sion, sometimes  under  the  control  of  a  single  state 
forester,  as  in  Massachusetts  and  Virginia.  In  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  and  Wisconsin  the  state  forestry  is  a  part  of  the  work  of 
a  general  "conservation  commission."  In  Connecticut  it  is 
centered  in  the  state  agricultural  experiment  station,  and  in 
Texas  in  the  agricultural  college.  In  South  Dakota  the  state 
forester  is  under  the  "commissioner  of  schools  and  public 
lands."  So  there  is  great  variety  in  the  organization  of  forestry 
work,  and  great  variation  in  the  amount  and  kind  of  atten- 
tion given  to  it. 

The  difference  between  the  number  of  states  having  state 
forests  and  the  number  having  forestry  departments  is  due  to 

1  The  following  list  of  state  forests  in  1917  is  compiled  from  data  furnished  to  the 
0£Bce  of  State  Cooperation,  United  States  Forest  Service,  by  state  foresters  or  similar 
oflScers. 


State 


Acres 


Connecticut . 
Indiana 
Maryland 
Massachusetts  . 
Michigan 
Minnesota    . 
New  Hampshire 
New  Jersey  . 
New  York    . 
North  Carolina  . 
Ohio   .      .      .      . 
Pennsylvania 
South  Dakota    . 
Vermont . 
Wisconsin 
Total  . 


2,940 
2,000 

3,500 

11,000 

300,000 

393,000 

9,674 

15,470 

1,812,86s 

800 

1,720 

1,014,000 

80,000 

12,000 

380,443 


4,039,412 


226  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

the  fact  that  the  pul^lic  forests  embrace  only  a  small  part  of  the 
timbered  land  of  a  state.  It  will  be  noted  from  the  table  on  page 
Pr"  atel  ^^5    ^^^^   ^^^^  °^^  southern  state   (North  Caro- 

ownedtimber-  Una;  two  if  Maryland  is  counted)  has  state 
^^  ^  forests.     Six  of  them  (eight  with  Maryland   and 

Virginia)  have  state  forestry  departments.  More  attention  is 
now  being  given  to  forest  preservation  and  use  in  the  South 
than  these  facts  indicate,  because  of  cooperation  between  state 
and  national  governments,  chiefly  through  the  county  agents 
(see  p.  148).  Such  cooperation  also  exists  in  the  northern 
states.  The  map  on  page  242  shows  cooperation  for  fire 
protection  in  New  Hampshire. 

The  conservation  of  our  forest  resources  requires  cooperation 
on  the  part  of  citizens.  In  many  states  there  are  "timberland 
^  .  owners'  fire  protective  associations,"  in  1917  about 

Protective  fifty  of  them.  There  is  an  American  Forestry 
ssociations  Association  that  publishes  a  magazine  devoted  to 
forestry,  American  Forestry;  a  Society  of  American  Foresters; 
The  Camp  Fire  Club  of  America,  with  a  committee  on  conserva- 
tion of  forests  and  wild  life.  Besides,  there  is  a  considerable 
number  of  local  associations  with  similar  purposes. 

It  is  not  always  realized  how  important  to  our  welfare  the 
forests  are,  especially  from  the  point  of  view  of  agricultural 
production.  A  very  large  part  of  the  timbered 
area  of  the  United  States  is  in  small  woodlands  on 
privately  owned  farms.  Not  only  are  the  timber  resources 
themselves  of  great  value,  but  the  relation  of  woodland  to 
agriculture  is  very  close,  especially  in  its  effect  upon  soil  erosion. 

Altogether  it  has  been  estimated  that  erosion  is  responsible  for  an  annual 
loss  in  this  country  of  approximately  $100,000,000.  To  the  farmer  it 
means  money  out  of  pocket  from  start  to  finish.  It  impairs  the  fertility 
and  decreases  the  productivity  of  his  land,  and  may  even  ruin  it  altogether; 
it  renders  irrigation  more  difficult  and  more  costly ;  by  reducing  the  possi- 
bilities of  cheap  water  power  development  it  tends  to  keep  up  the  price  and 


-^>< 


r^'gwt^.^^  Uttj  i 


Result  of  Clear  Cutting  and  Fires 
This  land  is  too  high  in  the  mountain  for  agriculture. 


Soil  Washing  as  a  Result  of  Overgrazing 


m 

^^ 

Nip-             * 

V 

mI^w 

j^gm^ 

..^^"l 

«. 

A5^S^-^€ 

Erosion  on  a  Stkkp  Slope 
227 


22^  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

check  the  more  extended  use  of  electricity;  and  by  interfering  with  navi- 
gation it  helps  to  prevent  the  development  of  a  comprehensive  system  of 
cheap  inland  water  transportation.  But  the  farmer  is  not  the  only  sufferer. 
The  entire  community  is  directly  affected  by  the  loss  and  is  justified  in  taking 
heroic  measures  to  remedy  the  evil. 

If  the  problem  is  to  be  solved  we  must  cease  to  accelerate  surface  run-off 
by  burning  the  forests  and  brush  fields,  overgrazing  the  range,  clearing  steep 
slopes  for  agriculture,  and  practicing  antiquated  methods  of  cultivation. 
On  the  contrary,  the  farmer,  the  forester,  and  the  stockman  must  cooperate 
in  seeing  that  the  land  is  so  used  that  surface  run-off,  particularly  at  the 
higher  elevations,  is  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

Children  in  particular  should  have  their  interest  actively  aroused  and 
their  support  enlisted.  In  one  state,  "gully  clubs"  have  been  organized 
by  the  state  forester.  These  are  composed  largely  of  school  children  who 
take  an  active  part  in  the  work  of  gully  reclamation  and  particularly  in 
finding  and  checking  incipient  gullies  before  it  is  too  late.  Why  could  not 
such  organizations  as  boy  scouts,  girl  scouts,  and  campfire  girls  be  used  in 
the  same  way  ?  ' 

Soil,  water,  and  forests  are  only  a  few  of  the  rich  natural 
resources  of  our  country,  although  they  are  among  the  most 
Mineral  important.     Great  as  the  mineral  production  of 

resources  our  country  now  is,  we  have  only  begun  to  open 
the  mineral  storehouse.  On  the  other  hand,  we  have  been 
extremely  wasteful  of  some  of  our  minerals,  as  in  the  case  of 
natural  gas,  oil,  and  coal.  The  war  has  done  more,  perhaps, 
than  anything  else  to  open  our  eyes  to  our  mineral  wealth  and 
to  convict  us  of  our  wastefulness  in  the  past.  In  the  light  of 
what  it  has  shown  us  we  should  redouble  our  efforts  to  conserve 
our  resources.  Our  government  has  been  gradually  developing 
a  program  of  conservation  which  we  should  help  to  make  effec- 
tive. At  the  end  of  this  chapter  will  be  found  references  to 
interesting  accounts  of  our  national  wealth,  and  of  what  the 
government  is  doing  to  conserve  it  in  other  directions  than 
those  described  in  this  chapter.     Many  of  these  references  are 

*  "Farms,  Forests,  and  Erosion,"  Year  Book  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture, 
1916,  pp.  107-134. 


CONSERVING  OUR  NATURAL  RESOURCES 


229 


to  publications  issued  by  the  government  itself,  which  can  be 
obtained  for  the  asking. 

Investigate  and  report  on : 

Losses  in  your  state  from  periodic  floods.     Measures  adopted  or  pro- 
posed to  control  them. 

The  by-products  of  coal  and  of  petroleum. 

The  Forest  Service  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 


Harnessing  the  Mississippi 
Power  House  at  Keokuk,  Iowa. 


A  description  of  your  state  forests  (if  any). 
Forestry  in  your  own  state,  public  and  private. 
Losses  from  forest  fires  in  your  state. 
The  life  of  a  forest  ranger. 
The  use  of  the  farm  woodlot  in  your  locality. 
The  extent  and  effects  of  soil  erosion  in  your  locality  or  state, 
taken  to  prevent  it. 

The  feasibility  of  "gully  clubs"  in  your  locality  (see  p.  228). 
The  mineral  resources  of  your  state.  Uses  in  war  and  peace. 
Game  laws  of  your  state. 


Measures 


230  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

READINGS 

In  Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 

Series  A:   Lesson  13,  The  United  States  Food  Administration. 

Lesson  14,  Substitute  Foods. 
Series  B  :   Lesson    5,  Saving  the  soil. 

Lesson    6,  Making  dyes  from  coal  tar. 
Lesson    9,  How  men  made  heat  to  work. 
Lesson  13,  The  Department  of  the  Interior. 
Series  C  :   Lesson    4,  Petroleum  and  its  uses. 

Lesson  5,  Conservation  as  exemplified  by  irrigation  projects. 
Lesson  6,  Checking  waste  in  the  production  and  use  of  coal. 
Lesson  10,  Iron  and  steel. 

Lesson  14,  The  United  States  Fuel  Administration. 
Lesson  16,  The  Commercial  Economy  Board  of  the  Council  of  Na- 
tional Defense. 
Reports  of  your  State  Agricultural  College  and  Experiment  Station,  and  of  your 
State  Geologist  and  other  ofiScers  having  to  do  with  the  natural  resources  of 
your  state. 
Annual  Reports  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior.     That  for  1915  (pp.  1-30)  contains 
an  interesting  review  of  our  natural  resources  and  their  use  ;   also  (pp.  151-209) 
a  comprehensive  and  interesting  discussion  of  our  mineral  resources  and  their 
development.     That  for  1918  contains  an  account  of  the  plan  for  land  reclama- 
tion by  and  for  soldiers. 
Publications  of  the  Geological  Survey,  the  Bureau  of  Mines,  and  the  Reclamation 
Service  (all  in  the  Department  of  the  Interior),  and  of  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries 
(Department  of  Commerce). 
Publications  of  the  Forestry  Service  (Department  of  Agriculture). 
Among  the  numerous  publications  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  may  be  men- 
tioned : 
Farmers'  Bulletin  340  (Declaration  of  Governors  for  the  conservation  of  natural 

resources). 
The  National  Forests  and  the  farmer,  Year  Book  1914,  65-88. 
Importance  of  developing  our  natural  resources  of  potash.  Year  Book  1916,  301- 

310. 
Agriculture  and  Government  reclamation  projects,  Year  Book  1916,  177-198. 
Farms,  forests,  and  erosion.  Year  Book  1916,  107-134. 
The  farm  woodlot  problem,  Year  Book  1914,  439-456. 
Economy  of  farm  drainage,  Year  Book  1914,  245-256. 
Economic  waste  from  soil  erosion,  Year  Book  1913,  207-220. 
Unprofitable  acres.  Year  Book  1915,  147-154. 
Consult  "Guide  to  United  States  Government  Publications,"  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Edu- 
cation Bulletin,  1918,  No.  2 ;    also,  "The  Federal  Executive  Departments  as 
Sources  of  Information,"  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin,  1919,  No.  74. 
Report  of  the  National  Conservation  Commission  (1909),  Senate  Document  676, 
60th  Congress,  2d  Session. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
PROTECTION    OF   PROPERTY   AND   PROPERTY   RIGHTS 

There  is  nothing  more  discouraging  than  to  have  the  product 
of  one's  labor  swept  away  by  disaster.  The  farmer  who  has 
every  prospect  of  a  bumper  crop  after  a  hard  Destruction 
season's  work  may  have  his  hope  dashed  by  smut  in  °^  property 
his  grain,  or  by  a  visitation  of  grasshoppers,  or  by  storm  and 
flood.  Cholera  may  carry  off  his  hogs,  or  hoof-and-mouth 
disease  his  cattle.  Rats  and  other  rodents  may  eat  his  grain. 
Fire  may  destroy  his  barn  or  his  home.  The  thief  may  steal 
his  pocketbook  or  his  automobile.  His  investments  may  prove 
unfortunate,  or  be  swept  away  by  somebody's  bad  management 
or  fraud.  Some  thoughtless  boys  or  deliberate  vandals  may 
ruin  in  a  few  minutes  a  beautiful  lawn  or  trees  that  have  taken 
years  to  grow  and  have  involved  great  expense  and  effort. 

The  Lndividual's  loss  is  also  a  loss  to  the  community.     It  is 

reported  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture  that  nearly  $800,- 

000,000  damage  was  done  to  crops  by  insects  in  a 

,  A     •        1     1-  1-  .  The  national 

smgle  year.     Anunal  diseases  cause  a  direct  loss  loss  from 

to  our  country  estimated  at  $212,000,000  annually,   property 

Hog  cholera  alone  costs  $75,000,000  a  year.     Smut 

destroys  more  than  $50,000,000  a  year  in  cereals.     Food  and 

feed  products  to  the  value  of  $150,000,000  a  year  are  destroyed 

by  prairie  dogs,   ground  squirrels,  and  other  rodents.     It   is 

said  that  prairie  dogs  often  take  half  the  pasturage  of  western 

cattle   ranges.     It    is   estimated    that    the   killing   of    wolves, 

coyotes,  mountain  lions,  bobcats,  and  lynxes  saved  more  than 

$2,000,000  worth  of  livestock  in  1918.     Floods  have  destroyed 

$100,000,000    in   property    in   the    Mississippi   Valley    alone. 

231 


232 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


The  loss  from  fire  in  the  United  States  is  said  to  equal  the 
value  of  our  total  product  of  gold,  silver,  copper,  and  petroleum. 

The  buildings  consumed  by  fire  in  19 14,  if  placed  on  lots  of  65  feet  front- 
age, would  line  both  sides  of  a  street  extending  from  New  York  to  Chicago. 
A  person  journeying  along  this  street  of  desolation  would  pass  in  every  thou- 
sand feet  a  ruin  from  which  an  injured  person  was  taken.  At  every  three 
fourths  of  a  mile  in  this  journey  he  would  encounter  the  charred  remains 
of  a  human  being  who  has  been  burned  to  death.* 


A  Cornfield  Ruined  by  Ground  Squirrels 

Protection  against  loss  of  property  is  one  of  the  chief  services 
performed  for  us  by  our  government.  We  have  already  noted 
The  service  of  i"  Chapter  XII  what  a  great  deal  of  work  both 
government  the  national  and  state  governments  are  doing  to 
prevent  loss  of  crops  and  of  livestock  from  disease,  insects,  and 
other  causes  (see  pp.  148-155).  What  this  may  mean  to  the 
individual  farmer  and  to  the  country  is  suggested  by  the  case 
of  a  farmer  who  had  hundreds  of  acres  of  corn  destroyed  in  some 

1  "  The  Fire  Tax  and  Waste  of  Structural  Materials  in  the  United  States,"  Bul- 
letin 814,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Department  of  the  Interior. 


PROTECTION  OF  PROPERTY 


233 


manner  unknown  to  him.  A  single  visit  from  a  representative 
of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  showed  him  the  cause  of  the 
trouble,  the  corn  rootworm,  and  how  it  could  be  eradicated  by 
a  simple  rotation  of  crops.  The  farmer  said  that  this  knowledge 
would  save  him  $10,000  a  year. 


>*  *-    ••^>veafe^'' 


Break  in  Irrigation  Ditch  Caused  by  Ground  Squirrels 
Six  acres  of  alfalfa  destroyed. 


The  state  and  national  governments  spend  a  great  deal  of 
money  in  equipping  experimental  laboratories  and  employing 
scientists  to  seek  out  these  enemies  of  the  farmer   Leadershi 
and  of  the  nation,  to  find  methods  of  destroying   and 
them  or  counteracting  their  effects,  and  to  advise   '^°°p®''^  ^°^ 
the  farmer  how  he  may  protect  himself  and  his  neighbors. 
While  the  government  provides  leadership  in  these  matters,  it 
depends  upon  the  cooperation  of  the  people  to  get  results,  as 
we  have  seen  in  so  many  cases.     A  farmer  may  destroy  all  the 
rats,  or  ground  squirrels,  or  prairie  dogs  on  his  place,  but  the 


234  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

trouble  will  be  repeated  unless  there  is  community  cooperation. 
The  same  thing  is  true  of  animal  and  plant  diseases,  insect 
enemies,  and  so  on. 

Investigate  and  report  on : 

Further  facts  regarding  losses  to  farmers  of  the  United  States  due  to 
insect  and  bird  enemies,  predatory  animals,  animal -and  plant  diseases. 

Similar  losses  in  your  own  state. 

Estimated  losses  of  individual  farmers  in  your  locality  from  any  of  these 
causes. 

The  value  of  insect-eating  birds  as  property  savers. 

Campaigns  against  rabbits  and  prairie  dogs  in  the  West. 

Bounties  on  wolves  and  other  predatory  animals  in  your  state. 

The  work  of  your  state  experiment  station  to  prevent  loss  of  property. 

Some  kinds  of  protection  require  effort  beyond  the  powers  of 
individual  citizens,  or  even  of  combined  citizen  action.     This 
j^.  is   the   case  with  flood  protection   (see  pp.  218- 

cobperation  219).  Millions  of  dollars  in  proppty  have  been 
for  flood  destroyed,    thousands    of    lives   lo'st,    and   untold 

suffering  caused  by  the  periodic  recurrence  of 
floods  in  certain  sections  of  the  country,  as  in  the  lower 
Mississippi  Valley,  or  as  in  Ohio,  a.  few  years  ago.  The  in- 
dividual farmer  has  some  responsibility  for  such  floods,  because 
by  looking  after  his  own  drainage  and  preserving  his  own 
timberland  he  may  help'  decrease  the  amount  of  water  that 
flows  into  the  streams  and  ultimately  causes  such  havoc  farther 
down  the  valley.  But  such  efforts  are  helpful  only  in  connec- 
tion with  the  larger  efforts  of  the  government.  Even  state 
governments  cannot  alone  control  the  floods,  because  the  waters 
that  cause  damage  in  Louisiana  and  Mississippi  come  from  the 
states  along  the  entire  course  of  the  Mississippi  River  and  its 
tributaries.  Moreover,  the  destruction  caused  in  Louisiana  or 
any  other  state  is  a  loss  to  the  entire  nation.  The  control  of 
floods  requires  the  combined  efforts  of  national  and  state 
governments,  as  well  as  of  local  communities  and  individuals. 


PROTECTION  OF  PROPERTY  235 

Levees  have  been  built  along  some  of  our  rivers  that  are 
subject  to  flood,  notably  the  lower  Mississippi,  where  the  work 
has  been  done  by  the  joint  action  of  the  states  affected,  through 
their  local  levee  boards  and  their  state  boards  of  engineers, 
and  the  United  States  Mississippi  River  Commission.  The 
United  States  government  has  spent  large  sums  for  river  im- 
provements, but  there  is  a  general  feeling  that  the  money  has 
not  always  been  wisely  spent.  At  all  events  the  work  has  been 
restricted  to  navigable  streams  under  the  power  of  the  national 
government  to  regulate  interstate  commerce.  Recently,  how- 
ever, the  President  has  approved  a  law  passed  by  Congress 
appropriating  $45,000,000  for  the  control  of  the  floods  of  the 
Mississippi  by  improvements  from  the  headwaters  of  the  river 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio.  The  law  also  includes  the  appro- 
priation of  $5,000,000  for  the  protection  of  the  Sacramento 
Valley  in  California.  This  law  was  passed  under  the  power 
given  to  Congress  by  the  Constitution  "to  lay  and  collect 
taxes  .  .  .  for  the  common  defense  and  general  welfare  of  the 
United  States"  (Art.  I,  sec.  8,  clause  i).  ■  .  .;' 

Great  saving  of  property  has  been  effected  by  the  United 
States  Weather  Bureau.  The  work  of  this  Bureau  is  wonder- 
ful, but  it  is  not  mysterious.     Just  as  the  move- 

,  ,  .  ^     ^  .,         ,  •  ,        Work  of  the 

ments  of  a  ship  or  of  a  railroad  tram  may   be  united  States 

reported  day  by  day,  and  hour  by  hour,  by  tele-  Weather 
graph,  so  the  appearance  and  movement  of  a  storm 
center  or  of  a  cold  wave  or  of  a  flood  are  reported  from  a  multi- 
tude of  observing  stations.  There  are  central  weather-fore- 
casting stations  at  Chicago,  New  Orleans,  Denver,  San  Fran- 
cisco, Portland,  Ore.,  and  Washington,  D.C.  Weather  forecasts 
are  made  up  at  these  points  from  observations  telegraphed  in 
from  observing  stations,  and  within  two  hours  are  telegraphed 
to  about  1600  distributing  stations,  from  which  they  are  further 
distributed  to  about  90,000  mail  addresses  daily,  to  all  news- 
papers, and  are  made  avail^'ble  tg  ^,500,000  telephone  sub- 


236 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


scribers.  A  farmer  may  call  central  by  telephone  and  learn  with 
remarkable  certainty  what  the  weather  for  twenty-four  hours 
will  be,  except  in  the  case  of  local  thunder  showers  which  may 
drench  his  fields  while  passing  by  those  of  his  neighbor. 

"It  may  be  said  without  exaggeration  that  the  San  Francisco 
office  of  the  Weather  Bureau  has  saved  to  the  citrus  fruit  growers 


A  Community  Drive  on  Rabbits 

of  California  more  money  within  the  last  five  years  than  the 
annual  appropriation  for  the  entire  Bureau  during  a  period  of 
twenty  years."  "In  the  citrus  fruit  districts  of  California  it  is 
reported  that  fruit  to  the  value  of  $14,000,000  was  saved  .  .  . 
during  one  cold  wave."  "The  value  of  the  orange  bloom, 
vegetables,  and  strawberries  protected  and  saved  on  a  single 
night  in  a  limited  district  in  Florida  .  .  .  was  reported  at  over 
$100,000."  "The  warnings  issued  for  a  single  cold  wave  .  .  . 
resulted  in  saving  over  $3,500,000  through  the  protection  of 
property."  "Signals  displayed  for  a  single  hurricane  are 
known  to  have  detained  in  port  on  our  Atlantic  coast  vessels 


PROTECTION  OF   PROPERTY  237 

valued  with  their  cargoes  at  over  $30,000,000."  Flood  warnings 
are  sent  in  from  about  60  centers  along  our  rivers,  enabling 
farmers  to  remove  their  cattle  from  bottom  lands,  to  save  their 
crops  when  they  are  ready  for  cutting,  and  otherwise  to  deter- 
mine their  farming  operations.  They  are  also  of  the  greatest 
service  to  railroads,  business  men,  and  home  owners,  in  cities. 
These  are  but  a  few  illustrations  of  the  service  performed  by  the 
Weather  Bureau. 

Investigate  and  report  on  : 

The  building  of  levees  in  your  state.     Where,  by  whom,  their  vakie. 

The  amount  of  money  spent  in  your  state  for  river  improvement  (or 
harbor  improvement). 

How  the  Weather  Bureau  forecasts  the  weather,  storms,  floods. 

How  to  read  a  weather  map. 

Experiences  of  individual  farmers  of  your  locality  with  regard  to  benefits 
derived  from  the  Weather  Bureau. 

How  a  merchant  in  your  town  may  be  benefited  by  the  Weather  Bureau. 

The  losses  in  your  state  and  locality  from  frost. 

A  great  deal  of  the  property  loss  referred  to  is  due  to  causes 
for  which  we  are  not  responsible,  such  as  storms,  the  depredations 
of  insects,  and  epidemics  of  animal  disease.  But  Preventable 
some  of  it  is  due  to  our  own  carelessness.  It  was  losses 
said  on  page  176  that  wastefulness  is  our  chief  national  sin. 
Carelessness  is  the  twin  sister  of  wastefulness ;  they  go  hand  in 
hand.  Enormous  waste  is  caused  by  fire,  and  most  fires  are 
due  to  carelessness  —  carelessness  in  handling  matches,  in  the 
use  of  oil  stoves,  in  accumulations  of  rubbish,  in  disposing  of 
hot  ashes,  in  smoking  where  there  are  inflammable  materials. 

In  cities  and  towns  the  safety  of  our  own  property  from  fire 
is  largely  dependent  upon  the  care  of  others.     If  our  neighbor 
is  careless,  our  property  as  well  as  his  may  be  de-  pire  protec- 
stroyed.     Under  such  circumstances  it  is  necessary  ^°^  ^^  "t'®^ 
to  have  rules  to  regulate  conduct  for  the  common  safety.     The 
materials  with  which  we  may  build,  the  thickness  of  our  walls, 


238 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


the  construction  of  our  flues,  the  storage  of  explosive  or  in- 
flammable materials,  the  disposal  of  rubbish  and  ashes,  and 
many  other  things,  are  regulated  by  law.  This  is  cooperation 
for  fire  prevention.  Much  money  is  also  spent  by  cities  for 
fire  protection,  including  water  supply  and  organized  fire  depart- 
ments (see  p.  41). 


Destruction  of  Good  Farm  Lands  by  Flood 


Where  people  live  widely  separated  from  one  another,  as  in 
rural  communities,  such  regulations  are  less  necessary  and 
organized  fire  protection  is  less  easy  to  afford.  A  farmer's 
Fire  protec-  property  may  be  destroyed  by  fire  from  a  spark 
tion  in  rural  from  a  passing  locomotive,  or  from  the  camp  of 
communities  ^  careless  hunter  in  the  adjoining  woods.  There 
may  be  state  laws  to  control  such  cases.  But  in  the  main, 
if  his  property  burns  it  is  due  to  the  carelessness  of  some 
one  who  lives  on  the  premises,  and  he  is  dependent  upon 
his  own  efforts  to  control  the  fire.     Improved  farm  water  supply 


PROTECTION  OF  PROPERTY  239 

with  adequate  pumping  facilities,  the  telephone  by  which 
neighbors  may  be  summoned,  and  the  automobile  by  which 
help  may  quickly  be  brought,  have  increased  the  farmer's 
safety;  but  his  chief  safeguard  is  the  exercise  of  care  by  all 
who  live  on  the  farm  at  every  point  where  a  fire  might  possibly 
be  started. 

Fire  insurance  is  a  means  of  reducing  the  fire  loss  of  individual 
property  owners  by  a  form  of  cooperation.  Insurance  com- 
panies, operating  under  state  laws,  sell  insurance  to  pire 
property  owners.  The  latter  pay  a  small  premium  insurance 
for  the  protection  afforded.  From  the  funds  produced  by  the 
premiums  and  the  interest  on  their  investment  (see  p.  187), 
the  occasional  losses  of  individuals  are  paid.  This  does  not  pre- 
vent the  destruction  of  the  property,  but  it  distributes  the  loss 
among  thousands  of  people,  perhaps  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

There  are  in  the  United  States  about  2000  farmers'  cooperative 

fire  insurance  companies,  carrying  insurance  amounting  to  more 

than  5  billion  dollars.     These  companies  are  asso-   Farmers' 

ciations  of  farmers  who  elect  their  own  directors   cooperative 

1  ,,     .  .  ,       .  rr^i  insurance 

and  manage  their  own  msurance  busmess.     Ihey 

provide  insurance  at  a  much  lower  rate  than  the  ordinary  com- 
mercial insurance  companies.  A  usual  provision  of  the  laws 
under  which  these  cooperative  companies  operate  is  that  no 
member  may  insure  his  property  for  its  full  value.  His  neigh- 
bors will  help  him  bear  his  loss,  but  will  not  bear  it  all.  This 
has  the  effect  of  causing  him  to  exercise  greater  care  to  prevent 
fire  on  his  premises.  For  this  reason  insurance  does  reduce  the 
actual  fire  loss  to  some  extent.  Property  may  also  be  insured 
against  loss  from  storm  and  flood. 

Investigate  and  report  on : 

Fire  losses  in  your  community  in  a  year. 

Causes  of  fires  in  your  community  last  year.     Number  that  were  prevent- 
able. 

Precautions  against  fire  in  your  home  and  school. 


240 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


Fire  preventive  regulations  in  your  community. 

Cost  of  fire  prevention  in  your  community. 

Improved  means  of  fire  prevention  in  country  districts. 

How  fire  insurance  works. 

Cooperative  fire  insurance  companies  in  your  state. 

Storm  insurance  in  your  locality. 


Flood  of  the  Ohio  River  at  Marietta,  Ohio 


All  states  have  laws  to  protect  their  citizens  against  the 
"ill-mannered"  (see  p.  47)  who  do  not  respect  property 
PoUce  rights  —  thieves,  burglars,  highwaymen,  vandals, 

protection  sharpers,  and  others.  The  enforcement  of  these 
laws  is  left  largely  in  the  hands  of  local  community  officers. 
Cities  have  police  departments,  with  large  numbers  of  patrol- 
men and  detectives  whose  business  it  is  not  only  to  arrest  vio- 
lators of  the  law  after  the  violation  has  taken  place,  but  also 
by  their  vigilance  to  prevent  the  violation  from  occurring. 

The  state  laws  against  the  violation  of  property  rights 
apply  to  rural  communities  as  well  as  to  cities,  and  rural  com- 
Rurai  poUce  munities  have  officers  for  their  enforcement  —  the 
protection  constable  in  townships,  the  sheriff  and  his  deputies 
in  counties.     Where  the  population  is  small  and  widely  scat- 


PROTECTION  OF  PROPERTY  241 

tered,  as  in  a  rural  township  or  county,  about  all  the  officers 
can  do  is  to  arrest  law  violators  after  the  commission  of  the  un- 
lawful act,  if  they  can  be  found.  The  officers  are  too  few  to 
watch  isolated  and  remote  property,  and  in  case  of  serious  dis- 
turbance, such  as  a  riot,  they  are  too  few  to  handle  the  situation 
effectively.  Rural  communities  and  many  small  industrial  or 
mining  communities  do  not  always  have  the  protection  they 
need  against  lawlessness.  In  such  cases  the  tendency  is  some- 
times for  the  people  to  "take  the  law  in  their  own  hands."  In 
times  of  labor  trouble  mining  companies  and  other  industrial 
corporations  have  sometimes  organized  their  own  police.  Such 
practice  is  dangerous,  for  the  enforcement  of  law  should  be  in 
the  hands  of  the  state,  and  not  in  the  hands  of  an  interested 
party.  In  early  days  on  the  frontier,  in  mining  and  lumber 
camps,  "vigilance  committees"  were  common;  and  even  now, 
in  various  localities,  we  hear  too  frequently  of  "lynching 
parties,"  which  are  as  lawless  as  the  original  offenders  against 
the  law,  and  tend  to  create  a  disrespect  for  law. 

And  yet  disrespect  for  law  may  also  result  from  failure  on  the 
part  of  the  community  to  enforce  the  law  through  regular 
agencies,  from  failure  of  officers  to  apprehend  offenders  promptly, 
or  of  courts  to  mete  out  justice  promptly  and  impartially. 

Canada  has  been  more  efficient  than  the  United  States  in 
affording  protection  to  remote  and  rural  communities,  by 
means  of  her  national  mounted  police.  "The 
isolated  farmer  and  his  wife  slept  securely  in  their 
sod  hovel  beyond  the  frontier,  because  they  knew  that  a  brave 
and  swift  corps  of  vigilant  young  athletes  .  .  .  kept  sleep- 
less vigil.  Life  and  property  were  secure,  .  .  ."  ^  In  our 
own  country  Texas  has  her  "rangers"  who  protect  her  borders 
against  raids;  but  the  best  example  of  rural  policing  in  the 
United  States  is  in  Pennsylvania,  whiSre  there  is  a  well-organized 

*  C.  R.  Henderson,  "Rural  Police,"  Annals  American  Academy  of  Political  and 
Social  Science,  1912,  p.  228. 


242  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

state  police,  or  "constabulary,"  which  has  many  times  proved 
its  efficiency  in  protecting  remote  rural  communities  and  homes, 
in  bringing  criminals  to  justice,  and  in  quelling  riots  in  mining 
centers. 

A  great  deal  of  property  is  destroyed  or  injured  by  vandals. 
The  original  Vandals  were  a  tribe  of  Germanic  peoples  who 
invaded  southern  and  western  Europe  in  the  Middle 
an  a  ism  Ages,  and  who  were  noted  for  their  destructiveness 
of  the  beautiful  buildings  and  other  evidences  of  Roman  civili- 
zation. There  seem  to  be  vandals  in  almost  every  community, 
and  sometimes  they  seem  to  be  especially  numerous  in  small 
communities,  perhaps  because  of  the  lack  of  pohce  protection. 
Sometimes  vandalism  is  wanton,  —  that  is,  it  results  from  an 
apparent  love  of  being  destructive.  Most  often  it  is  purely 
thoughtless.  Few  people  would  knowingly  injure  the  prop- 
erty of  another  if  they  would  stop  to  think  of  their  feelings  if 
another  should  injure  their  property.  It  is  a  case  of  "bad 
manners."  Moreover,  it  is  not  a  "square  deal"  to  injure 
another's  property  while  expecting  one's  own  property  to  be 
secure.  When  vandalism  occurs  in  a  community  it  creates 
a  general  feeling  of  insecurity  and  destroys  the  sense  of 
freedom. 

Public  property  is  often  more  likely  to  suffer  from  vandalism 
than  private  property.  Some  people  will  mar  the  walls  of 
public  buildings,  or  make  their  floors  filthy  with  expectoration, 
when  they  would  not  think  of  doing  so  in  private  buildings. 
They  will  break  shrubbery  in  public  parks,  or  despoil  pubHc 
flower  beds,  when  they  would  not  think  of  entering  private 
premises  for  such  purpose.  There  seems  to  be  a  feeUng  that 
pubhc  property  belongs  to  no  one,  or  else  that,  since  it  is  pubhc, 
any  one  is  at  liberty  to  do  as  he  pleases  with  it.  This,  of  course, 
is  foolish.  It  is  as  if  a  stockholder  in  a  business  corporation 
should  injure  or  destroy  the  corporation  property,  forgetting 
that  he  owned  a  share  in  it  and  suffered  a  share  of  the  loss. 


PROTECTION  OF  PROPERTY 


243 


Qj^  District  Chief  Headqudrters 

©  FedergI  Patnolman 

>fC  Slate  Fire  Warden 

-|—  Deputy  Tire  Wartien     - 

A     State    \ 

/  Lookout  Stations 
A     Private/ 

tj     Tool  Supply  Boxes  of' 

hJ.HTimberland  Owners  Aiin; 

y^     patrolman's  Gamp 

■— ~~~rederal  Fbtrol  Rojtes 

Telephone  Lines 

5^5^^5^^Fire  District  Bounda 


f  I  f  ?  ■>  >  ^  f  »  »  ■. 


Fire  Plan  Map,  Northern  District  of  New  Hampshire 


244  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

Investigate  and  report  on : 

Organization  of  police  protection  in  your  community. 

Organization  of  a  police  department  in  a  large  city. 

The  mounted  police  of  Canada  and  their  work. 

The  Texas  rangers. 

The  state  police  of  Pennsylvania. 

Vigilance  committees  in  frontier  towns  of  former  times. 

Why  lynching  is  wrong. 

The  promptness  with  which  justice  is  meted  out  in  the  courts  of  your 
state. 

The  extent  and  causes  of  vandalism  in  your  community. 

Is  vandaHsm  justifiable  on  Hallowe'en? 

Inspect  the  courthouse  and  other  public  buildings  in  your  community 
and  report  as  to  whether  they  are  disfigured  in  any  way. 

When  a  thief  or  vandal  takes  or  destroys  another  person's 
property,  the  loss  of  the  property  is  not  the  worst  thing  that 
happens,  but  the  attack  upon  property  rights. 
ness  of  prop-  The  right  to  security  in  one's  possessions  is  among 
erty  rights  ^^^  most  sacred  rights  of  a  free  people,  being 
classed  with  the  right  to  life,  the  right  of  free  speech,  the  right 
of  petition,  the  right  to  freedom  of  religion.  It  is  by  securing 
these  rights  that  the  laW  makes  us  free.  The  sacred  right  to 
property  is  as  truly  violated  by  one  who  steals  a  nickel  as  by  one 
who  robs  a  bank  of  a  thousand  dollars,  by  one  who  ruins  our 
flower  bed  as  well  as  by  one  who  burns  our  house.  The  amount 
has  nothing  to  do  wjth  it.  The  tax  which  the  English  govern- 
ment imposed  on  tea  imported  by  the  American  colonists  was 
not  a  heavy  tax,  but  the  colonists  objected  because  it  was 
imposed  without  their  consent. 

The  citizens  of  a  free  country  require  protection  of  their 
property  rights  against  infringement  by  their  government  as 
well  as  by  one  another.  The  Revolutionary  War 
gurraliTeer^^  was  fought  in  defense  of  this  and  other  rights 
of  property  against  violation  by  the  English  government, 
rights  When  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  was 

framed  the  people  refused  to  ratify  it  unless  amendments  were 


PROTECTION  OF  PROPERTY  245 

added  guaranteeing  these  rights.  Thus  it  was  provided  that 
"no  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be  quartered  in  any  house 
without  the  consent  of  the  owner,  nor  in  time  of  war,  but  in  a 
manner  to  be  prescribed  by  law"  (Amendment  III) ;  that  "the 
right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons,  houses,  papers, 
and  effects,  against  unreasonable  searches  and  seizures,  shall 
not  be  violated.  ..."  (Amendment  IV);  that  "no  persons 
shall  be  .  .  .  deprived  of  life,  liberty  or  property,  without  due 
process  of  law;  nor  shall  private  property  be  taken  for  public 
use  without  just  compensation"  (Amendment  V.  See  also 
Chapter  XIV,  p.  207).  The  Constitution  also  provides  that 
"  no  state  shall  .  .  .  pass  any  .  .  .  law  impairing  the  obligation 
of  contracts"  (Art.  I,  sec.  10,  clause  i),  and  in  various  other 
ways  protects  our  property  rights.  Our  state  constitutions  con- 
tain many  similar  provisions.  Our  governments  have  the  power 
to  take  property  in  the  form  of  taxes,  but  under  certain  restric- 
tions imposed  by  our  constitutions  to  safeguard  the  rights  of  the 
people  (see  Chapter  XXIII). 

It  is  to  protect  these  rights,  rather  than  property  itself,  that 
communities  have  their  police,  that  states  have  their  militia, 
and  that  the  nation  has  its  army  and  its  navy,  our  national 
Among  the  chief  causes  that  led  us  into  war  with  ^""^y 
Germany  was  the  fact  that  Germany  was  violating  the  property 
rights  of  our  citizens.  While  our  Constitution  provides  for 
state  militia  and  a  national  army  for  the  defense  of  our  rights, 
property  rights  included,  it  has  always  been  our  national 
policy  to  maintain  as  small  a  standing  army  as  is  consistent 
with  the  national  safety;  and  this  for  the  very  reason  that  a 
large  standing  army  and  a  large  navy  are  not  only  a  great 
burden  of  expense,  but  also,  as  the  founders  of  our  nation 
beUeved,  a  menace  to  the  liberties  of  the  people  and  to  the  peace 
of  the  world. 

We  have  seen  that  no  person  may  be  deprived  of  property 
by    the    government    "without    due   process    of    law."     This 


246  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

means  that  the  procedure  provided  by  law  must  be  followed, 
and  that  the  citizen  whose  property  is  taken  may  have  his  side 
^.       ^  .  of  the  case  presented,  the  value  of  the  property  in 

of  the  question  appraised  by  impartial  judges,  and  so  on. 

courts  j^  -g  ^]^g  business  of  the  courts  to  see  that  justice  is 

done.  They  inquire  into  the  facts  in  the  case,  and  interpret 
the  law  bearing  on  it.  The  courts  are  the  final  safeguard  to 
our  hberties.  Our  government  comprises,  therefore,  not  only 
a  law-making  branch  and  a  law-enforcing  branch,  but  also  a 
law-interpreting,  or  judicial,  branch  —  the  courts. 

The  Constitution  guarantees  justice  to  persons  accused  of 
violating  the  property  rights,  or  other  rights  of  citizens,  by 
The  rights  theft,  fraud,  or  otherwise,  as  well  as  to  the  citizen 
of  accused  who  has  been  wronged.  "In  all  criminal  prose- 
persons  cutions  the  accused  shall  enjoy  the  right  to  a  speedy 
and  public  trial,  by  an  impartial  jury  of  the  State  and  district 
wherein  the  crime  shall  have  been  committed  .  .  .  and  to  be 
informed  of  the  nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation ;  to  be 
confronted  with  the  witnesses  against  him,  to  have  compulsory 
process  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor,  and  to  have  the 
assistance  of  counsel  for  his  defense"  (Amendment  VI).  "Ex- 
cessive bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive  fines  imposed, 
nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishments  inflicted"  (Amendment 
VIII). 

Investigate  and  report  on : 

How  are  property  rights  guaranteed  in  your  state  constitution  ?  in  the 
national  Constitution? 

Read  the  charges  made  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence  against 
the  king  of  England  with  respect  to  the  violation  of  property  rights. 

"Due  process  of  law." 

The  violation  of  property  rights  by  Germany  as  a  cause  for  war. 

Are  property  rights  as  sacred  in  time  of  war  as  in  time  of  peace  ? 

What  property  rights  has  an  American  in  Mexico? 

What  property  rights  has  a  Mexican  in  the  United  States? 

What  became  of  German  property  in  the  United  States  during  the  war? 


igio, 

pp. 

1913, 

pp. 

1915- 

pp. 

191S, 

pp. 

1916, 

pp. 

1916, 

pp. 

1916, 

pp. 

1918, 

pp. 

PROTECTION  OF  PROPERTY  247 

The  purpose  of  the  courts. 

What  courts  exist  Jj,  your  community? 

The  rights  of  a  person  accused  of  crime. 

READINGS 

In  the  Year  Book  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture : 

413-424,  Fire  prevention  and  control  on  the  national  forests. 
75-  92,  Bringing  applied  entomology  to  the  farmer. 
iS9~i72,  Animal  disease  and  our  food  supply. 
263-272,  Recent  grasshopper  outbreaks  and  methods  of  control. 
217-226,  Suppression  of  gypsy  and  brown-tailed  moths. 
267-272,  Cooperative  work  for  eradicating  citrus  canker. 
381-398,  Destroying  rodent  pests  on  the  farm. 
303-316,  Federal  protection  of  migratory  birds. 
Farmers'  mutual  fire  insurance,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  Bulletin  No.  530 ; 

also.  Year  Book,  1916,  pp.  421-434. 
The   Weather   Bureau    (a   pamphlet),    Government  Printing  Office,    Washington. 
Send  to  the  Weather  Biu-eau  for  list  of  publications. 
How  the  Weather  Bureau  forecasts  stonns,  frosts,  and  floods,  Office  of  Information, 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  ;   reprinted  in  Scientific  American  Supplement, 
March  14,  1914. 
Forecasting  storms:    the  Weather  Bureau's  helpfulness,  Sunset  Magazine,  vol. 

25,  PP-  529-532  (Nov.,  1910). 
The  Farmer  and  the  Weather  Bureau,  Scientific  American,  Feb.'  18,  191 1. 
Doing  business  by  the  weather  map,  World's  Work,  June,  1914. 
Flood  control : 

Water  Supply  Paper  234,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Department  of  the  Interior, 
1919.     Write  for  other  publications  on  this  subject.     Also,  the  Office  of  the 
Chief  of  Engineers,  War  Department. 
There  has  been  much  magazine  literature  on  this  subject. 
War  and  Navy  Departments,  in  the  Federal  Executive  Departments,  Bulletin, 

1919,  No.  74,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education. 
Dunn,  The  Community  and  the  Citizen,  chap.  X. 
Hart,  Actual  Govertitnent,  pp.  573-582. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
ROADS   AND   TRANSPORTATION 

During  the  years  1910-1915  the  Office  of  Pubhc  Roads  of 
the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  made  a  con- 
,  tinuous  study,  year  by  year,  of  the  methods  and 
the  Office  of  results  of  road  improvement  in  eight  selected  coun- 
PubUc  Roads  ^jgg  ^f  ^j^g  United  States.^  The  results  of  the 
investigation  are  described  in  Bulletin  No.  393  (1916)  of  the 
Department  of  Agriculture,  which  is  worth  sending  for  and 
studying  by  any  school  that  is  interested  in  the  improvement 
of  the  community. 

One  of  these  counties  was  Spotsylvania  County,  Virginia, 
a  map  of  which  is  shown  on  the  opposite  page.  Since  the 
Spotsylvania  Civil  War  the  farm  land  in  this  county  had  gradu- 
County,  Va.  ^\\y  declined  from  its  prosperous  condition  before 
the  war  until  it  was  little  better  than  a  wilderness  of  second- 
growth  timber,  valued  at  from  $5  to  $15  an  acre.  For  many 
months  of  the  year  the  roads  were  well-nigh  impassable.  There 
was  much  wealth  in  timber,  but  it  could  not  be  marketed  to 
advantage.  The  soil  was  very  little  cultivated.  More  farm 
products  were  shipped  into  Fredericksburg,  the  only  city  in 
the  county,  by  rail  from  outside  than  were  shipped  out  from  the 
farms  of  the  county. 

Nearly  one  third  of  the  population  of  the  county  lived  in 
-J  Fredericksburg;    but  under  the  law  of  the  state 

for  road  of  Virginia  the  people  of  the  city  could  not  be 

improvement  |-g^g(j  fQj.  county  purposes  outside  of  the  city. 
Moreover,  two  of  the  four  districts  of  the  county  at  first  took 

1  Spotsylvania,  Dinwiddle,  Lee,  and  Wise  counties  in  Virginia ;  Franklyn  County 
in  New  York ;  Dallas  County  in  Alabama ;  Lauderdale  County  in  Mississippi ;  and 
Manatee  County  in  Florida. 

248 


ROADS   AND   TRANSPORTATION 


249 


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Map  of  Spotsylvania  County,  Va. 
Showing  roads  improved  and  to  be  improved. 


250 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


little  interest  in  the  matter  of  road  improvement,  although  they 
had  to  use  the  roads  in  going  to  market  at  Fredericksburg. 
Courtland  and  Chancellor  districts,  however  (see  map),  were 
determined  to  have  better  roads,  and  voted  to  raise  the  neces- 
sary money  by  selling  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $100,000.  Three 
years  later  the  other  two  districts,  inspired  by  the  success  of 
Courtland  and  Chancellor  districts,  also  voted  bonds  for  road 
improvement  to  the  amount  of  $73,000.  This  debt  would  of 
course  have  to  be  paid  off  by  levying  taxes  upon  the  people  of 
the  districts.  With  a  tax  rate  of  $1.70  on  every  hundred 
dollars'  worth  of  property,  a  farmer  with  a  farm  assessed  at 
$3000  would  pay  a  total  tax  of  $51,  of  which  $19.48  would  be 
for  the  roads. 

It  is  not  always  easy  to  convince  the  people  of  a  community 
that  it  is  worth  while  to  spend  so  much  money  on  their  roads. 
Cost  must  be  They  have  to  be  shown  that  the  expenditure  will  in 
justified  due  time  pay  for  itself,  as  well  as  add  to  the  con- 

venience and  pleasure  of  the  community.  Too  much  money 
spent  in  costly  improvements  on  roads  that  are  little  used,  or  in 
construction  that  does  not  stand  the  traffic  and  soon  wears  out, 
is  of  course  a  bad  investment.  But  the  results  in  Spotsylvania 
County,  as  well  as  in  the  seven  other  counties  studied  by  the 
OfiEice  of  PubHc  Roads,  justified  the  cost. 

The  law  of  Virginia  provided  that  all  highway  construction 
in  the  state  must  be  supervised  by  the  state  highway  commis- 
sioner.    He    accordingly    appointed    an    engineer 
local  to  supervise   the  work  in  Spotsylvania  County, 

cooperation  ^^^e  engineer's  salary  being  paid  by  the  state.  The 
work  of  construction,  however,  was  under  the  direction  of  a 
county  hoard  of  public  roads.  The  board  appointed  a  superin- 
tendent who  hired  all  labor  and  teams  and  purchased  all  equip- 
ment and  materials.  Three  main  highways  in  Courtland  and 
Chancellor  districts,  and  leading  into  Fredericksburg,  were 
chosen  for  improvement.     Within  two  years  more  than  forty 


ROADS  AND   TRANSPORTATION 


251 


Spotsylvania  County,  Va. 
Road  before  and  after  improvement. 

miles  of  road  were  completed,  or  about  10  per  cent  of  all  the 
roads  in  the  entire  county. 

Roads  have  to  be  kept  in  repair  after  they  are  constructed. 
By  1914  money  was  needed  for  this  purpose.  The  farmers 
objected  to  further  increase  of  the  tax  rate,  so  it  was  decided 


252 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


to  charge  tolls  for  the  use  of  the  improved  highways  —  5  cents 
for  a  single  horse  and  vehicle,  10  cents  for  two  horses  and  a 
Money  for  buggy,  1 5  cents  for  two  horses  and  a  wagon,  25 
repairs  cents  for  four  horses  and  a  wagon,  and  from  20 

cents  to  35  cents  for  automobiles.  More  money  than  was  needed 
was  raised  in  this  way  in  the  first  month,  and  the  tolls  were 
therefore  reduced  one  half.  One  advantage  to  the  county  of 
the  toll  system  was  that  automobilists  and  others  from  other 
districts,  counties,  and  states  would  contribute  to  the  upkeep 
of  the  roads. 

On  the  roads  selected  for  improvement  there  were  35  farms 
including   5518   acres.     In   1910,   the  average  value  of   these 
farms,  including  buildings,  was  $14  per  acre,  and 
improvements  seldom  did  any  one  want  to  buy  land  in  the  neigh- 
borhood.    But  within  two  years  after  the  road 
improvement  seven  of  the  35  farms  had  been  sold, 
and  a  large  part  of  another,  as  shown  in  the  following  table : 


on  land 
values 


Farm 

Acres 

Value  IN 
1909-10 

Sold  for  in  191 2 

Increase  Per  Cent 

I 

139 

$3500 

$5000 

43 

2 

420 

6000 

8250 

37 

3 

lOI 

3000 

3750 

25 

4 

475 

5000 

12500 

150 

5 

357 

2800 

4400 

76 

6 

133 

7000 

1 0000 

43 

7 
8 

100 
no 

3000 
1500 

4750 

2000  (for  80  acres) 

58 

60  (besides  $500  for 
timber  and  30 
acres  remaining) 

In  the  next  two  or  three  years  a  number  of  other  farms 
were  sold  at  similar  increased  prices,  and  some  farms  that  had 
been  abandoned  were  reoccupied.  Large  areas  of  land  were 
cultivated  for  the  first  time  since  the  Civil  War.  The  farmers 
were,  however,   most  interested  for  the  time  being  in    their 


ROADS  AND   TRANSPORTATION 


253 


f 

-^ 

-  r 

I 

i 

^^^*^  • 

'^^^"S^ 

ii 

A  Road  in  Mississippi  before  and  after  Improvement 


timber  wealth,  and  between  1909  and  1913  the  shipments  of 
forest  products  from  Fredericksburg  increased  78.2  per  cent. 
Before  the  improvement  of  the  roads,  the  average  weight 


254  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

of  load  for  a  two-horse  team  in  the  winter  and  spring,  when 
the  roads  were  bad,  was  about  1 200  pounds ;  when  the  roads 
The  average  were  dry,  about  2400  pounds.  The  cost  for  haul- 
haul  ing  at  this  rate  averaged,  for  the  year  round,  about 
30  cents  per  ton  per  mile.  After  the  roads  were  improved,  the 
average  load  the  year  round  was  4000  pounds,  and  the  cost  for 
hauling  only  15  cents  per  ton  per  mile.     (See  illustrations.) 

Investigate  and  report  on : 

Results  of  road  improvement  in  others  of  the  eight  counties  referred  to 
on  page  248  (see  Bulletin  393,  1916,  Department  of  Agriculture). 

Procure  or  make  a  map  of  your  county  showing  road  improvement.  Is 
your  county  well  provided  with  improved  roads? 

Do  the  cities  and  towns  in  your  county  contribute  to  the  improvement  of 
the  country  roads? 

Do  the  people  of  the  rural  districts  of  your  county  contribute  to  the 
improvement  of  the  streets  of  the  cities  and  towns? 

Bond  issues  in  your  county  for  road  improvement.  Meaning  of  "bond 
issues." 

Tax  rate  in  your  county  for  road  improvement. 

How  is  road  improvement  managed  in  your  county? 

What  help  does  your  county  get  from  your  state  for  road  improvement? 

What  supervision  does  your  state  exercise  over  road  improvement  ? 

Are  there  toll  roads  in  your  county  or  state  ? 

Toll  roads  were  once  common  in  this  country.  Why  have  tolls  been 
generally  abandoned  ? 

Who  has  charge  of  bridge  construction  in  your  county? 

From  what  sources  does  the  money  come  for  road  repair  in  your  county? 

What  is  the  cost  of  hauling  on  the  roads  of  your  county?  How  does 
this  cost  compare  with  the  cost  in  neighboring  counties  and  states? 

Relation  of  land  values  in  your  county  to  the  character  of  the  roads. 

Good  roads  pay,  in  dollars  and  cents,  provided  they  are  made 
of  suitable  materials  and  with  due  regard  to  the  kind  and  amount 
of  traffic  they  are  to  carry.     They  permit  of  larger 
of  good  loads,  and  more  loads  in  a  given  time ;    they  save 

'■oa'is  wear  and  tear  on  horses,  harness,  wagons,  and  auto- 

mobiles ;   in  the  case  of  automobiles  they  save  gasoline ;    they 


ROADS  AND  TRANSPORTATION 


255 


Hauling  Cotton  in  Tennessee  on  Unimproved  and  Improved  Roads 


256  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

save  the  time  of  the  farmer ;  they  make  possible  a  more  varied 
agriculture  by  making  marketing  easier ;  they  add  to  the  value 
of  the  land. 

But  good  roads  pay  in  many  other  ways  than  in  dollars  and 
cents.  In  Spotsylvania  County,  as  in  other  counties  investi- 
G  d  roads  gated  at  the  same  time,  the  improvement  of  the 
and  com-  roads  was  followed  by  a  decided  improvement  in 

mumty  life  school  attendance.  In  more  than  one  case  it  led  to 
the  improvement  of  the  quality  of  the  schools  by  the  consolida- 
tion of  a  number  of  poor,  one-room  schoolhouses  into  a  single 
larger  school  with  better  equipment  and  better  teachers  (see 
Chapter  XIX).  The  relation  between  good  roads  and  good 
schools  is  clearly  suggested  in  one  of  the  illustrations  in  this 
chapter.  So,  also,  good  roads  increase  the  ease  with  which  the 
people  of  the  community  may  associate  with  one  another, 
attend  church  or  community  meetings  at  the  schoolhouse,  and 
enjoy  the  social  life  and  entertainment  of  the  neighboring  city 
or  village.  When  the  road  is  improved,  the  farmers  along  the 
way  are  more  likely  to  keep  the  weeds  cut,  to  repair  broken 
fences  or  build  new  ones,  and  otherwise  to  beautify  the  adjoin- 
ing premises,  which  adds  both  to  the  money  value  of  property 
and  to  the  enjoyment  of  life. 

Road  making  is  necessarily  a  cooperative  enterprise.  In  the 
first  place,  a  public  road  serves  the  common  interest  of  the 
R  d  akin  entire  community.  The  community  may,  through 
a  cooperative  its  government,  exercise  the  right  of  eminent  domain 
enterprise  ^^^^  p  ^07),  taking  land  from  adjacent  farms 
for  the  purpose  of  laying  out  a  new  road,  provided,  of  course, 
that  the  farmers  are  paid  for  it.  In  the  second  place,  the  making 
of  a  road  is  far  too  costly  and  difficult  for  an  individual  farmer 
to  undertake  for  the  benefit  he  himself  would  derive  from  it.  It 
requires  a  great  deal  of  labor  and  a  high  degree  of  technical  skill. 

It  has  been  quite  common  for  farmers  themselves  to  work 
on  the  roads  of   their  locality  —  "working  out"   their  road 


ROADS  AND   TRANSPORTATION 


257 


taxes.     But  roads  so  made  are  seldom  very  good,  unless  the 
work   is    supervised   by    some    one    trained   in    the    business. 


Road  making 


Whether  a  farmer  works  on  the  roads  himself  or 
merely  pays  for  having  it  done,  it  is  to  his  advan-  a  job  for 
tage  to  know  something  about  road  making.  The  ^^^^^  ^ 
Department  of  Agriculture  and  the  state  agricultural  colleges  now 
give  extension  courses  in  road  making  for  the  benefit  of  the 
farmers.     It  is  reported  that  in  one  county  of  Oklahoma  the 


Six  Thousand  Pounds  of  Milk  in  One  Load  on  a  New 
York  Road 


pupils  of  forty  different  school  districts  have  built  more  than 
forty  miles  of  good  roads,  of  course  working  under  supervision. 
Good  country  roads  are  of  the  greatest  importance,  not  only 
to  the  farmers  and  rural  communities,  but  also  to  the  people  of 
cities.  The  road  improvement  in  Spotsylvania  value  of 
County,  Virginia,  was  of  as  much  benefit  to  the  country  roads 
people  and  the  business  of  Fredericksburg  as  to 
the  farmers.  An  excellent  illustration  of  the  recognition  of  the 
common  interest  of  city  and  country  in  the  public  roads,  and  of 
efifective  cooperation  in  improving  them,  was  given  in  Chapter 


258 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


III,  page  32,  in  the  case  of  Christian  County,  Kentucky.  The 
wide  use  of  the  automobile  has  done  a  great  deal  to  awaken 
the  people  of  cities  to  their  interest  in  country  roads,  and 


Modern  Transportation  on  Good  Country  Roads 


associations  and  journals  devoted  to  the  interests  of  automobilists 
have  been  active  in  advocating  the  improvement  of  the  public 
highways. 


ROADS  AND  TRANSPORTATION  259 

In  Spotsylvania  County  we  saw,  also,  that  the  improvement 
of  roads  in  two  districts  was  a  direct  advantage  to  the  farmers 
of  the  other  two  districts.  Carrying  this  idea  q^^^  ^.^^^j^ 
further,  we  shall  see  that  the  roads  of  one  county  not  merely  of 
may  be  of  the  greatest  importance  to  other  coun-  °*^*  concern 
ties  in  the  state ;  and  those  of  one  state  of  importance  to  other 
states.  The  crossties  produced  from  the  timber  of  Spotsylvania 
County  may  be  wanted  for  railroad  building  in  a  distant  state. 
The  cotton  from  the  plantations  of  Tennessee  or  Texas  is  needed 
at  the  mills  in  New  England.  The  wheat  of  the  great  farms 
of  the  northwest  supplies  the  whole  nation.  Most  of  the  freight 
carried  on  the  railroads  and  steamships  has  at  some  time  and 
in  some  form  been  hauled  in  wagons  and  trucks  over  country 
roads.  It  is  clear,  then,  that  the  character  of  the  highways  in 
any  locality  is  a  matter  of  national  interest,  and  even  of  world- 
wide interest. 

When  our  nation  was  created,  the  question  of  highways  at 
once  became  very  important.     The  states  needed  to  be  bound 
together,  and  the  public  lands  must  be  settled.   ^^^.   national 
The  Constitution  gave  Congress  the  power  "to  interest  in 
estabhsh  post  oflSces  and  post  roads,"  and  "to  ^°^  ^^^ 

regulate  commerce  .  .  .  among  the  several  states  "  ;  but  it  was 
not  clear  how  far  these  powers  could  be  exercised  for  "internal 
improvements."  Roads  and  canals  were  proposed  in  great 
numbers.  In  1806  Congress  authorized  the  building  of  the 
Cumberland  Road,  which  began  at  Cumberland,  Md.,  and  was 
finally  completed  as  far  west  as  Illinois.  Road  building  was, 
however,  left  chiefly  to  the  states  and  to  private  enterprise. 
The  Cumberland  Road  finally  passed  under  the  control  of  the 
states  through  which  it  ran,  and  by  them  was  given  into  the 
management  of  the  counties.  Many  "turnpikes"  were  built 
by  private  companies,  which  charged  tolls  for  their  use. 

The  building  of  many  canals  and,  later,  the  coming  of  rail- 
roads caused  interest  in  public  highways  to  decline,  and  their 


26o  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

building  was  left  almost  wholly  to  local  initiative,  where  it  re- 
mained until  very  recently.  The  result  is  that  the  United 
Poor  roads  States  has  had  the  poorest  roads  in  the  civilized 
in  the  world.     Under  local  management  the  cost  of  public 

mte  tates  j-^g^^^g  fgjj  chiefly  upon  the  farmers,  cities  escaping 
taxation  for  this  purpose,  except  for  their  own  streets.  A  road 
running  across  a  state  might  be  well  kept  in  some  localities 
while  allowed  to  run  down  in  others.  A  community  was  reluc- 
tant to  spend  money  on  a  highway  only  to  have  the  improvements 
destroyed  by  through  traffic  from  neighboring  communities  who 
had  no  responsibility  for  maintaining  the  road.  Local  communi- 
ties could  not  afford  to  employ  expert  officials  to  plan  and 
supervise  road  construction. 

Under  these  conditions  the  road  situation  became  so  bad 
that  public  sentiment  was  gradually  aroused  on  the  subject. 
State  control  and  it  was  seen  that  a  road  was  of  more  than  merely 
of  highways  local  importance.  State  control  was  agitated. 
New  Jersey  was  the  first  state  to  pass  a  law  placing  the  high- 
ways within  the  state  under  state  regulation.  This  was  in 
1891.  Other  states  followed  New  Jersey's  example,  until  by 
1914  forty-two  states  had  state  highway  departments.  These 
differ  greatly  from  one  another  in  organization,  powers,  and 
efficiency.  Unfortunately,  "political  influence"  has  entered 
into  road  building  and  management  in  many  states  in  such  a 
way  as  to  interfere  with  efficiency ;  —  that  is,  those  in  charge 
of  roads  have  often  been  chosen  for  political  reasons  rather  than 
for  their  fitness  for  the  work,  and  large  sums  of  money  have 
been  spent  unwisely,  if  not  dishonestly  in  some  cases. 

In  a  number  of  states,  state  highways  have  been  built.  These 
are  wholly  state  enterprises,  paid  for  and  managed  by  the 

Tj       ^  state.      California  has    two   trunk   lines   running 

Recent  prog-  _  _     ° 

ress  under  the  entire  length  of  the  state,  with  branch  lines 
state  control  connecting  them  with  the  county  seats.  To 
January  i,    1914,   Massachusetts  had   completed    more    than 


ROADS  AND   TRANSPORTATION 


261 


i-vl 


Hrtm—^j^ 


School  Consolidation  Following  Road  Improvement 
Dinwiddie  County,  Va. 

1000  miles  of  state  highways.  New  York  has  an  extensive 
system,  and  Maryland  is  another  example.  But  the  plan  most 
commonly  in  use  is  state  aid  and  supervision  in  the  construction 
of  roads  by  counties.  This  was  the  New  Jersey  plan  of  1891. 
By  it,  plans  for  road  improvement  with  state  aid  in  any  county 
must   be   approved   by   the   state   highway   department,   and 


262 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


construction  is   supervised  by   state   engineers.     The   cost  is 
divided  between  the  state  and  the  local  community. 

In  New  Jersey  the  property  owners  along  the  highway,  who  of  course 
are  most  directly  benefited,  were  to  pay  one  tenth  of  the  cost,  the  state 
one  third,  and  the  county  the  remainder.  In  Wisconsin,  the  board  of 
county  commissioners  in  each  county  is  required  to  plan  a  "coimty  system" 


Courtesy  American  Magazine  oj  AH. 

The  Commerce  of  the  Prairies 
Mural  decoration  by  Allen  True,  Branch  Library,  East  Denver. 

of  highways  to  be  a  part  of  the  state  system.  The  cost  of  each  county  system 
is  divided  equally  among  township,  county,  and  state.  The  work  is  directed 
by  a  county  highway  commissioner,  but  in  accordance  with  plans  and  speci- 
fications of  the  state  highway  commission.  In  Ohio  a  system  of  "inter- 
county  highways"  is  being  built,  connecting  all  the  county  seats  of  the 
state.  Counties,  towns,  and  property  owners  along  the  highway  must 
provide  an  amount  equal  to  that  provided  by  the  state,  and  the  work  is 
under  the  direction  of  the  state  highway  department. 


ROADS   AND   TRANSPORTATION  263 

In  Virginia  the  cost  of  highway  construction  is  divided  equally  between 
state  and  local  communities ;  but  the  counties  often  accept  from  the  state  the 
labor  of  prison  convicts  instead  of  money.  Convict  labor  on  the  roads  is 
quite  common  in  southern  states. 

The  money  for  state  aid  in  highway  building  is  commonly 
raised  by  the  sale  of  bonds  by  the  state.  For  the  maintenance 
of  the  roads  after  they  are  built,  the  proceeds  from  automobile 
licenses  are  applied. 

Our  roads,  even  in  remote  rural  districts,  are  of  national 
importance  for  the  reasons  stated  on  page  259.  Moreover, 
they  are  becoming  more  and  more  used  for  the  transportation 
of  freight  and  passengers  over  long  distances,  for  which  the 
introduction  of  the  automobile  and  the  motor  truck  is  respon- 
sible. Therefore,  national  cooperation  is  necessary  for  adequate 
road  improvement. 

The  work  of  the  national  government  in  behalf  of  good 
roads  has  heretofore  been  largely  educational  and  advisory. 
In  1893  the  Office  of  Road  Inquiry  (now  the  Office 
of  Public  Roads)  was  created  in  the  United  States  the  national 
Department  of  Agriculture  to  investigate  methods  government 
of  road  making  and  management.     The  results  of  improvement 
its   investigations   have   been   published   for    the 
benefit  of  the  country.     Advice  was  given  when  asked  for. 
Instruction   was   given    through   extension    courses    (p.    257). 
Here  and  there  model  or  experimental  roads  were  constructed 
to  test  new  methods  or  to  serve  as  object  lessons  to  the  localities 
where   they  were  built.     Good  road  building  has  also  been 
greatly  stimulated  by   the   extension  of   the   rural   free   mail 
delivery,  routes  not  being  established  unless  the  roads  are  in 
reasonably  good  condition.     The  national  government  has  also 
given  to  many  states  public  lands  within  their  borders,  the  pro- 
ceeds from  which  were  to  be  used  for  road  construction ;  and  a 
part  of  the  proceeds  from  the  sale  of  timber  in  the  national 
forests  is  devoted  to  road  building  in  the  locaUty. 


264  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

In  19 1 6,  however,  Congress  passed  the  law  known  as  the 
Federal  Aid  Road  Act.  This  law  places  the  national  govern- 
Federal  Aid  rnent  in  the  same  relation  to  the  states,  in  the 
Road  Act  matter  of  road  building,  that  the  state  govern- 

ments have  borne  to  the  counties  in  granting  state  aid. 

The  Federal  Aid  Road  Act  appropriated  75  million  dollars 
to  aid  states  in  improving  their  "rural  post  roads,"  and  10 
miUion  dollars  for  the  construction  and  maintenance  of  roads 
in  the  national  forests.  Of  the  75  million  dollars  for  state  aid 
in  building  post  roads,  5  million  dollars  were  to  be  available  the 
first  year,  10  million  the  second,  15  million  the  third,  and  so  on 
for  five  years,  when  the  total  amount  will  have  been  used.  The 
money  is  given  to  the  states  only  on  their  request,  and  on  condi- 
tion that  each  state  shall  provide  an  amount  equal  to  that 
received  from  the  national  treasury.  The  money  is  appor- 
tioned among  the  states  on  the  basis  of  area,  population,  and 
the  extent  of  post  roads  in  the  state. 

The  administration  of  the  law  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Office 
of  Public  Roads.  The  entire  country  is  divided  into  ten 
ResponsibiUty  districts,  over  each  of  which  is  a  district  engineer. 
of  the  state  When  a  state  desires  aid  from  the  national  govern- 
ment, its  highway  department  must  draw  up  plans  for  the 
improvements  proposed  and  submit  them  to  the  district  engi- 
neer, who  in  turn  submits  them  with  recommendations  to  the 
Secretary  of  Agriculture,  whose  approval  they  must  have. 
Having  obtained  this  approval,  the  work  is  carried  on  by  the 
state  as  in  the  case  of  other  roads  entirely  under  state  control. 

It  is  too  soon  yet  to  tell  what  the  results  of  this  new  coopera- 
tive enterprise  of  the  national  government  will  be.  But  the 
Results  of  first  important  effect  has  been  to  cause  the  organ- 
federal  aid  ization  of  state  highway  departments  in  the  few 
states  that  did  not  already  have  them,  and  the  reorganization 
of  such  departments  in  the  states  where  they  were  weak ;  for 
the  Federal  Aid  Road  Act  provides  that  aid  may  be  given  to 


ROADS   AND   TRANSPORTATION  265 

the  states  only  on  condition  that  they  have  effective  highway 
departments.  The  result  is  that  every  state  in  the  Union  now 
has  an  active  highway  department,  and  road  improvement  is 
going  on  at  a  rate  never  before  known. 

Investigate  and  report  on  : 

The  amount  of  time  saved  in  a  year  by  a  farmer  in  your  locality  because 
of  good  roads ;   or  lost  because  of  unimproved  roads. 

The  wear  and  tear  on  vehicles  and  equipment  because  of  unimproved 
roads. 

Effect  of  improved  or  unimproved  roads  in  your  county  on  school  and 
church  attendance,  social  life,  etc. 

Instances  of  the  exercise  of  the  right  of  eminent  domain  in  your  county 
for  road  improvement. 

Materials  used  in  road  making  in  your  county.  Relative  merits  of  differ- 
ent materials  as  shown  by  experience  in  your  county. 

Methods  of  road  construction  in  your  county. 

Extension  courses  in  road  making  by  your  state  agricultural  college. 

The  amount  of  traffic  on  the  roads  of  your  community  by  non-residents. 

The  sentiment  of  farmers  of  your  locality  with  regard  to  road  improve- 
ment. 

Organization  of  the  state  highway  commission  of  your  state. 

The  state  highway  system  of  your  state. 

History  and  use  of  canals  in  your  state  (if  any). 

Influence  of  rural  mail  delivery  upon  road  improvement  in  your  county. 

The  extent  to  which  federal  aid  for  road  improvement  has  been  taken 
advantage  of  by  your  state. 

Those  who  live  in  the  most  remote  rural  communities  have  a 
vital  interest  in  the  nation's  transportation  system,  including 
railways  and  steamship  Hnes.     As  we  have  seen 
(p.  203),  there  was  the  closest  relation  between   interest  in 
the  building  of  railroads  and  the  opening  of  the  transporta- 
public  lands.     The  market  of  the  farmer  and  the 
source  of  his  supplies  are  not  merely  the  neighboring  trading 
center,  but  in  far  distant  parts  of  the  country  and  of  the  world. 
Without  railroads  the  farmer,  the  manufacturer^  and  the  city 
merchant  would  alike  be  helpless. 


266  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

While  our  government  has  at  times  given  direct  aid  to  encour- 
age the  building  of  railroads,  as  by  the  gift  of  public  lands,  they 
Government  ^Sive  been  developed  chiefly  by  private  enterprise, 
control  of  They  are  owned  by  private  corporations  which  do 
business  under  charters  granted  by  the  state  gov- 
ernments (rarely  by  the  national  government)  and  regulated  by 
law.     Control  over  them  has  been  exercised  chiefly  by  the  state 


A  Railroad  Yard  Congested  with  Coal  Trains  at  a  Time  when  Near-by 
Cities  were  Suefering  from  Lack  of  Fuel 

governments,  except  in  matters  affecting  interstate  commerce, 
which  falls  under  the  control  of  Congress.  As  the  parts  of  our 
country  have  become  more  closely  bound  together  and  inter- 
dependent, largely  by  the  influence  of  the  railroads  themselves, 
an  increasingly  large  part  of  commerce  has  become  "interstate  " 
in  character,  and  railway  transportation  has  become  more  and 
more  a  national  concern.  The  result  is  an  increasing  control 
by  the  national  government. 

In  1887  Congress  created  an  Interstate  Commerce  Commis- 
sion with  power  to  inquire  into  the  management  of  the  business 
of   "common   carriers,"   §uch   as   railroads,    steamship   lines, 


ROADS  AND  TRANSPORTATION  267 

and  express  companies.  It  was  later  given  power  to  fix  rates 
which  such  carriers  could  charge.  Other  laws  were  passed, 
such  as  the  Sherman  Act,  or  "Anti-Trust  Law,"  interstate 
of  1890,  which  made  unlawful  any  "contract,  com-  commerce 
bination  ...  or  conspiracy  in  restraint  of  trade."  These  and 
other  laws  checked  abuses  that  characterized  railroad  manage- 
ment at  that  time,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  they  are  said  in 
some  respects  to  have  hampered  the  economic  and  efficient 
development  of  the  country's  transportation  system.  The 
Sherman  Law,  for  example,  absolutely  forbade  the  consolida- 
tion of  competing  railroad  fines  under  one  management,  although 
such  consofidation  often  makes  for  efficiency  and  economy. 

When  the  United  States  entered  the  recent  war,  the  weakness 
of  our  transportation  system  quickly  became  apparent,  and  the 
need  for  the  most  effective  transportation  service   Government 
led  the  government  to  take  unusual  steps  to  secure  railroad 
it.     The  President  issued  a  proclamation  by  which,   tion  in 
in  the  exercise  of  his  war  powers,  he  "  took  posses-  '^^^ 
sion  and  assumed  control  of  each  and  every  system  of  trans- 
portation in  the  United  States  and  the  appurtenances  thereof." 
This  meant  assuming  control  over  397,000  miles  of  railways 
owned    by    2905    corporations     and    employing    more    than 
1,700,000  persons.     The  management  of  this  great  transpor- 
tation system  was   intrusted    to    a   Railroad   Administration 
with  a  Director  General  of  Railroads  at  its  head.     The  owner- 
ship of  these  railroads,  however,  remained  with   the  private 
companies,  which  were  to  receive  compensation  for  the  use  of 
their  property,  and  were  to  receive  back  the  railroads  after  the 
war  was  over. 

The  whole  purpose  of  the  government  in  its  management  of 

the  railroads  was  to  win  the  war,  the  convenience    .  .      , 

'  Advantages  of 

of  the  public  being  a  minor  consideration.     The  government 
people  cheerfully  put  up  with  inconveniences  of  ^a^^age^ent 
travel  and  with  rates  that  they  had   not   experienced  while 


268  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

the  roads  were  under  private  management.  On  the  other  hand, 
there  were  certain  decided  advantages  in  the  management 
of  all  railroads  as  one  great  system.  It  meant  the  consoli- 
dation of  competing  lines  that  the  law  itself  prevented  the  rail- 
way companies  from  effecting,  it  meant  shortening  routes  in 
many  cases,  the  use  of  common  freight  terminals  by  different 
lines,  the  increase  of  track  facilities  and  storage  areas  at  seaport 
terminals,  the  selHng  of  passenger  tickets  good  over  any  one  of 
several  roads  running  between  two  points. 

There  are  those  who  believe  that  the  railroads  should  be 
managed,  or  even  owned,  by  the  government  in  time  of  peace 
as  well  as  during  war.  There  are  others  who  believe  as  strongly 
in  private  ownership  and  direction.  Many  of  the  latter  believe, 
however,  that  a  more  perfect  control  should  be  exercised  over 
the  privately  owned  roads  by  the  government  under  laws  that 
protect  the  interests  of  the  public  and  that  at  the  same  time 
permit,  or  even  require,  greater  cooperation  among  the  roads 
than  has  heretofore  existed.  Since  the  war,  bills  have  been 
introduced  in  Congress  looking  to  these  ends,  and  doubtless  the 
experience  of  the  war  will  result  in  an  appreciable  improvement 
in  our  country's  railway  transportation  system. 

In  the  early  days  of  our  nation,  rivers  were  used  for  transpor- 
tation to  a  large  extent,  and  canals  were  proposed  in  great 
Water  trans-  numbers,  some  of  them  being  built  and  carrying  a 
portation  large  amount  of  trafl5c.     The  coming  of  the  rail- 

roads caused  water  transportation  to  decline,  to  the  nation's 
great  loss.  The  war  stimulated  the  use  of  our  waterways  to  a 
considerable  extent,  and  any  scheme  for  transportation  control 
in  the  future  should  provide  for  their  fullest  development  as 
a  means  of  marketing  the  products  of  our  farms,  forests,  mines, 
and  factories. 

There  was  also  a  time,  in  the  early  part  of  our  history,  when 
our  seaports  swarmed  with  American  ships  that  sailed  every 
sea.    Our  shipping  afterward  declined  because  other  nations 


ROADS  AND   TRANSPORTATION 


269 


built  and  manned  ships  more  cheaply  than  we  could  do. 
We  allowed  these  other  nations  to  carry  our  commerce. 
We  deplored  the  fact  that  our  merchant  marine  had  dis- 
appeared, and  discussed  ways  and  means  to  restore  it.  But 
all  to  no  purpose,  until  the  great  war  came;  then  we  had  to 
have  ships. 

When  we  entered  the  war  we  had  almost  no    „„ 

Effect  of  war 
ships.     Congress  created  the  United  States  Ship-    upon  our 

ping  Board  and  its  Emergency  Fleet  Corporation.    ™«''fhant 

As  a  result,  and  within   a  year's  time. 


The  Dock 


the  United  States  took  rank  as  the  leading  shipbuilding  nation  in  the 
world.  It  has  more  shipyards,  more  shipways,  more  ship  workers,  more 
ships  under  construction,  and  is  building  more  ships  every  month  during 
the  war  than  any  other  country.  Prior  to  the  war  the  United  States 
stood  a  poor  third  among  the  shipbuilding  nations.  Since  August,  191 7, 
more  seagoing  tonnage  has  been  launched  from  American  shipyards  than 
was  ever  launched  before  in  a  similar  period  anywhere.^ 

1  "Shippmg  Facts,"  issued  by  the  U.  S.  Shipping  Board,  September,  191 8. 


270 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


Moreover,  under  the  stress  of  necessity  methods  of  shipbuilding 
and  operation  were  developed  that  ought  to  make  it  possible 
for  the  United  States  to  compete  successfully  in  the  future  with 
other  nations,  even  though  our  workmen  and  sailors  are  paid 
more  than  those  of  other  nations. 

The  chairman  of  the  shipping  board  said,  "The  American 
community  must  think  of  ships  as  a  local  improvement." 
This  means  that  the  business  and  welfare  of  every  American 


American  Ships  in  New  York  Harbor  during  the  War  Waiting 
TO  BE  Armed 

community,  whether  a  sealport  or  a  remote  farming  community, 
are  dependent  upon  ships.  By  our  merchant  marine  the 
American  farmer  and  the  American  business  man  are  brought 
into  touch  with  the  remotest  parts  of  the  earth. 

Investigate  and  report  on : 

The  service  of  the  railroads  to  the  farmers  of  your  county.  To  the 
merchants  of  your  town. 

The  story  of  the  building  of  the  first  transcontinental  railway. 

State  control  of  railroads  in  your  state. 

Experiences  of  your  community  with  respect  to  railroad  rate  dis- 
crimination. 

The  work  of  the  Interstate  Cgmnjerce  Commission. 


ROADS  AND   TRANSPORTATION  271 

The  work  of  the  United  States  Railway  Administration  during  the  war. 

Advantages  and  disadvantages  of  government  control  of  railroads  during 
the  war. 

The  war  powers  of  the  President. 

Arguments  for  and  against  government  ownership  of  railroads. 

Electric  intcrurban  railways  in  your  county  and  state.  What  they 
mean  to  the  farmer  and  to  the  city  resident. 

The  work  of  the  United  States  Coast  Survey. 

The  history  of  the  American  merchant  marine. 

The  development  of  the  American  merchant  marine  during  the  recent 
war. 

The  building  of  "fabricated  ships." 

The  life  of  a  sailor  to-day  as  compared  with  that  of  100  years  ago. 

The  dependence  of  the  American  farmer  upon  the  merchant  marine. 

READINGS 

County  reports  relating  to  road  construction  and  improvement. 

Reports  of  State  Highway  Commission. 

State  management  of  public  roads,  Year  Book,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture, 

1914,  pp.  211-226. 
Publications  of  Office  of  Public  Roads,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture.     Write 
also  to  Superintendent  of  Documents,  Government  Printing  Office,  Washington, 
for  price  list  of  documents  relating  to  the  subject  of  roads. 
Farmers'  Bulletins  relating  to  marketing  and  transportation  facilities,  U.  S.  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture. 
In  Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 

Series  A :  Lesson  26,  Concentration  of  control  in  the  railroad  industry. 
Series  B  :  Lesson  27,  Good  roads. 

Series  C :  Lesson  25,  A  seaport  as  a  center  of  concentration  of  population  and 
wealth. 
Lesson  27,  Early  transportation  in  the  Far  West. 
Lesson  28,  The  first  railway  across  the  continent. 
Consult  public  library  for  magazine  Uterature  on  the  subject  of  roads,  railroads, 
river  transportation,  etc.     For  example,  in  the  Review  of  Reviews,  February, 
1918,  there  are  the  following  articles: 
"Uncle  Sam  Takes  the  Railroads." 
"The  World's  Greatest  Port"  (New  York). 
"New  York  Canals  a  Transportation  Resource." 
"River  Navigation  —  a  War  Measure." 
Hart,  Actual  Government,  chap.  XXVII. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

COMMUNICATION 

Roads  and  other  means  of  transportation  are  important 
not  only  as  a  means  of  transporting  products,  but  also  as  a 
means  of  communication  among  the  members  of  the  community. 
Team  work  is  impossible  without  prompt  and  effective  means  of 
communication. 

Tell  what  you  know  about  the  value  of  signals  in  getting  team  work  in  a 
football  or  baseball  team. 

Discuss  the  importance  of  means  of  communication  in  conducting  military 
operations.     What  means  were  used  for  this  purpose  in  our  army  in  France  ? 

How  were  military  movements  reported  and  directed  in  the  Revolution- 
ary War? 

Andrew  Jackson's  victory  at  New  Orleans  was  won  a  month  after  the 
War  of  1812  was  officially  ended.     How  did  this  happen? 

What  were  some  of  the  methods  used  by  the  American  Indians  to  convey 
information  between  distant  points? 

One  of  the  most  interesting  chapters  in  history  is  that  relating 
to  the  development  of  means  of  communication.     Language 

itself  is  the  most  important  of  these  means.  It  is 
as  a^means  not  altogether  clear  what  the  first  steps  were  in 
of  communi-     the    development   of   spoken   language ;     but   we 

know  that  among  uncivilized  peoples  conversation 
is  aided,  and  often  largely  carried  on,  by  signs  made  with  the 
hands.  Written  language  certainly  developed  from  the  use  of 
pictures,  which  were  gradually  curtailed  into  hieroglyphics,  such 
as  were  used  by  the  ancient  Egyptians,  and  finally  developed 
into  the  alphabet,  each  letter  of  which  was  originally  a  picture. 

A  story  is  told  of  a  group  of  American  Indians  who  some  years  ago  visited 
an  eastern  city.     They  could  not  make  themselves  understood,  nor. could 

272 


COMMUNICATION 


273 


they  understand  others,  and  became  very  lonely.  They  were  taken  to 
visit  a  deaf-and-dumb  institution,  where  they  were  quite  delighted  to  find 
that  they  could  converse  freely  by  the  use  of  a  natural  sign  language. 

Uncivilized  peoples  are  in  the  habit  of  conveying  ideas  in  the  most 
astonishing  ways.  For  example,  among  a  certain  African  tribe  the  gift  of 
a  tooth  brush  carries  a  message  of  affection.  These  Africans  take  great 
pride  in  their  white  teeth,  and  the  tooth  brush  carries  the  message,  "As  I 
think  of  my  teeth  morning,  noon,  and  night,  so  I  think  often  of  you." 

To  illustrate  the  development  of  the  alphabet  from  pictures,  our  letter 
M  represents  the  ears  of  an  owl,  which  in  Egypt  was  called  mu,  and  the  pic- 
ture of  which,  later  reduced  to  the  ears,  came  to  represent  the  sound  of  m. 


COMMXJNICATION   ON   THE    BaTTLE    FrONT 

The  fascinating  story  of  the  development  of  language  cannot 
be  told  here.     It  is  referred  to  because  we  are  likely  to  forget 
what  an  important  factor  it  is  in  making   com- 
munity life  possible.     Inability  to  use  a  common  y£^^*^  °^ 
language  prevents    intercourse    and    team   work. 
Large  numbers  of  men  drafted  in  the  American 
army  were  unable  to  understand  the  English  lan- 
guage.    Between  30,000  and  40,000  illiterates  were  taken  in 
the  first  draft  and  it  is  said  that  there  were  nearly  700,000 


and  inability 
to  use 
English 


274  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

men  of  draft  age  in  the  United  States  who  could  neither  read 
nor  write.  They  could  not  sign  their  names,  nor  read  orders 
or  instructions.  They  had  to  be  separated  and  taught,  thus 
greatly  delaying  the  complete  organization  of  our  available 
fighting  forces.  Inability  to  use  a  common  language  is  equally 
an  obstacle  in  industrial  life,  for  non-English  speaking  workmen 
are  unable  to  understand  instructions,  or  to  read  signs  and 
warnings.  Many  accidents  are  due  to  this  cause.  It  is  said 
that  approximately  5^  million  of  our  population  above  ten 
years  of  age  cannot  read  or  write  in  any  language,  and  that  5 
million  of  our  foreign  population  cannot  use  English.  An  active 
campaign  is  now  being  conducted  to  teach  English  to  foreigners 
and  to  eradicate  illiteracy.  A  bill  has  recently  been  intro- 
duced in  Congress  to  provide  Federal  aid  for  this  purpose. 

If  the  productive  labor  value  of  an  illiterate  is  less  by  only  50  cents  a 
day  than  that  of  an  educated  man  or  woman,  the  country  is  losing  $825,000,- 
000  a  year  through  illiteracy.  .  .  .  The  Federal  Government  and  the  States 
spend  millions  of  dollars  in  trying  to  give  information  to  the  people  in  rural 
districts  about  farming  and  home  making.  Yet  3,700,000,  or  10  per  cent, 
of  our  country  folk  can  not  read  or  write  a  word.  They  can  not  read  a 
bulletin  on  agriculture,  a  farm  paper,  a  food-pledge  card,  a  liberty-loan 
appeal,  a  newspaper,  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  or  their  Bibles, 
nor  can  they  keep  personal  or  business  accounts.  An  uninformed  democ- 
racy is  not  a  democracy.  A  people  who  cannot  have  means  of  access  to 
the  mediums  of  public  opinion  and  to  the  messages  of  the  President  and  the 
acts  of  Congress  can  hardly  be  expected  to  understand  the  full  meaning 
of  this  war,  to  which  they  all  must  contribute  in  life  or  property  or  labor.  — 
Secretary  Lane,  Annual  Report,  1918,  p.  30.    From  letter  to  the  President. 

Ask  at  home:  What  is  "illiteracy"?  What  is  the  difference  between 
an  "illiterate"  and  a  non-English  speaking  person? 

Debate  (or  discuss) : 

Resolved,  That  all  persons  of  sound  mind  in  the  United  States  should  be 
required  by  law  to  attend  school  until  they  are  able  to  speak,  read,  and  write 
English  fluently. 

Resolved,  That  the  elimination  of  illiteracy  and  the  teaching  of  English  to 
foreigners  should  be  left  wholly  to  the  states  without  interference  or  aid 
from  the  national  government. 


COMMUNICATION 


275 


Why  are  foreigners  required  to  read  sections  from  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  before  they  receive  their  "naturalization"  papers? 
What  does  "knowing  how  to  read"  mean? 

Debate : 

Resolved,  That  no  native-born  American  should  be  permitted  to  vote 
who  cannot  read  intelligently. 

What  is  being  done  in  your  community  and  in  your  state  to  eradicate 
illiteracy  and  to  teach  Enghsh  to  foreigners? 


Arrival  of  the  Mail,  Tanana,  Alaska 

Next  to  language  itself,  the  most  important  invention  for  the 
communication  of  ideas  is  the  art  of  printing.     It  made  possible 
the    book,    the    magazine,    the    newspaper.     The  ^j^^  printing 
writer  of   this  book  is  enabled   to   communicate  press  and 
with  boys  and  girls  whom  he  will  never  see  by  '^^^^p^p^''^ 
means  of  the  printed  page  and  the  pictures  which  the  book 
contains.     By  the  same  means  the  ideas  of  people  who  lived 
long  ago  have  been  handed  down  to  us,  and  the  ideas  of  to-day 
will  be  passed  on  to  later  generations.     Most  wonderful  is  the 
modern  newspaper,  which  daily  carries  into  almost  every  home 
of  the  land  the  important  happenings  in  the  world  during  the 
preceding   twenty-four  hours.     In   cities  several  editions  are 


276  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

printed  during  the  day.  The  newspaper  enables  the  merchant 
to  communicate,  through  advertisements,  with  possible  buyers, 
and  the  farmer  and  business  man  to  keep  posted  regarding  crop 
conditions  and  market  prices.  Most  newspapers  have  special 
departments  for  different  classes  of  readers  —  a  woman's  page, 
a  children's  column,  a  page  devoted  to  sports,  another  to 
market  conditions.  Most  of  them  also  have  a  department  in 
which  individuals  may  ask  questions  or  express   their  own 


United  States  Mail  en  Route,  Alaska 

opinions  regarding  questions  of  the  day.  The  "local  news- 
paper," with  a  circulation  that  seldom  extends  far  beyond  the 
county  in  which  it  is  published,  is  of  the  greatest  value  in 
stimulating  a  community  spirit. 

The  right  of  The   first   amendment   to   the   Constitution   of 

free  speech       ^hg  United  States  provides  that : 

Congress  shall  make  no  law  .  .  .  abridging  the  freedom  of  speech  or  of 
the  press ;  or  the  right  of  the  people  peaceably  to  assemble.  .  .  . 

The  right  of  free  speech  and  of  a  free  press  is  a  very  sacred 
one,  and  its  maintenance  is  one  of  the  chief  safeguards  of  democ- 
racy. It  is  the  means  by  which  public  opinion  is  formed  and 
made  known;  and  public  opinion  is  one  of  the  chief  means  of 
control  in  a  democracy.     It  controls  the  conduct  of  individuals, 


COMMUNICATION  277 

and  it  controls  the  actions  of  government.  The  representatives 
and  leaders  of  the  people  in  the  government  seek  constantly  to 
know  what  public  opinion  is,  and  the  public  press  is  one  of  the 
chief  channels  through  which  they  may  find  out.  On  the 
other  hand,  leaders  and  parties  seek  to  form  public  opinion,  to 
lead  the  people  to  think  in  certain  ways  and  to  support  certain 
ideas.     The  press  affords  an  effective  means  for  doing  this. 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  both  good  leaders  and  bad  leaders  may 
thus  create  pubHc  opinion,  that  both  good  and  bad  ideas  may 
be  spread  through  the  press.  During  the  war 
we  heard  much  about  German  propaganda.  This 
means  that  ideas  were  systematically  spread  to  create  a  public 
opinion  favorable  to  the  German  cause.  It  was  done  largely  by 
rumors,  springing  from  no  one  knows  where,  and  spreading 
by  word  of  mouth.  But  it  was  also  accomphshed  through  the 
newspapers,  by  news  items  and  stories  that  appeared  to  be  true 
and  that  were  published  innocently  enough  in  most  cases,  but 
that  afterward  were  found  to  be  false. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  all  propaganda  is  harmful  or 
dangerous.  There  is  propaganda  in  good  causes,  or  on  both 
sides  of  a  disputed  question.  By  this  means  pubHc  ^j^^  develop- 
opinion  is  educated.  When  the  peace  conference  at  mentof 
Paris  proposed  a  plan  for  a  League  of  Nations,  it  ^^  ^  opinion 
was  at  once  taken  up  for  discussion  through  the  newspapers  and 
magazines.  People  who  believed  in  the  idea  organized  a  cam- 
paign of  publicity  to  support  the  plan  and  to  create  a  public 
opinion  for  it,  while  those  opposed  to  it  were  equally  active 
in  their  attempt  to  create  a  public  opinion  against  it.  In  this 
way  the  people  became  informed  regarding  the  question,  pro- 
vided they  read  both  sides  of  the  discussion  and  not  one  only. 
Leaders  in  the  community  may  conduct  propaganda  through 
the  newspapers  in  behalf  of  better  schools,  better  roads,  woman 
suffrage,  prohibition,  or  any  other  cause. 

The  good  citizen  cannot  well  get  along  without  the  newspaper 


278  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

and  magazine.     But  he  needs  to  keep  in  mind  the  fact  that  news 

items  may  be  in  error,  and  that  the  opinions  expressed  by  editors 

and  other  writers  usually  represent  the  opinions  of  but  a  single 

group  of  people,  which  may  be  large  or  small,  right  or  wrong. 

In  most  cases  these  writers  are  sincere,  but  there  is  always  the 

chance  for  error.     The  intelligent  citizen  will  not  base  his  own 

opinions  and  actions  solely  on  what  he  reads  in  one  paper  or 

magazine  or  book,  but  will  seek  to  understand  all  sides  of  a 

question.     He  is  helped  to  do  this  by  the  great  variety  of 

publications  available  representing  every  shade  of  belief,  and 

by  the  freedom  of  speech  and  of  the  press  under  our  system  of 

government. 

Freedom  of  speech  and  of  the  press  does  not  mean  that  a 

citizen  may  always  say  anything  he  pleases  in  public.     At  no 

time  has  one  the  right  to  attack  the  character  of 
The  control  of  i         i        r  1  i-   •  rr-n  • 

free  speech       another  by  false  or  malicious  statements,     ihis 

and  a  free         constitutes  slander,  or  libel,  and  may  be  punished 

by  the  courts.     In  time  of  war  freedom  of  speech 

and  of  the  press  may  be  restricted  to  an  extent  that  would  not 

be  tolerated  in  time  of  peace,  because  if  absolute  freedom  were 

permitted  information  might  be  made  public  that  would  be 

helpful  to  the  enemy,  and  propaganda  started  that  would  be 

dangerous  to  the  public  safety.     But  even  in  war  time,  the 

people  of  a  democracy  chafe  under  restrictions  upon  free  speech 

and  a  free  press,  and  it  is  often  a  delicate  question  to  determine 

how  far  such  restriction  is  justifiable  or  wise. 

Make  a  report  on  the  invention  of  the  printing  press. 

Is  there  more  than  one  "local  paper"  in  your  town  or  county?  Do  these 
local  papers  take  the  same  position  in  regard  to  public  questions?  Do  you 
read  more  than  one? 

What  is  the  most  influential  newspaper  in  your  state  (ask  at  home)  ? 
Why  is  it  so  influential? 

What  is  the  difference  between  a  news  story  and  an  editorial? 

Ask  at  home  what  newspaper  editor  it  was  who  said,  "Go  West,  young 
man."     Also  find  out  what  you  can  about  his  influence  as  an  editor. 


COMMUNICATION 


279 


Examine  with  care  the  newspapers  you  take  at  home  and  make  a  list  of 
their  different  "departments"  or  "sections." 

What  do  you  first  look  for  in  the  newspaper  when  you  read  it  ?  Ask  your 
father  and  mother  and  other  members  of  the  family  what  they  first  look 
for. 

What  is  the  value  of  cartoons  in  the  newspaper?  Do  you  study  them? 
Do  they  convey  a  story  to  you?  Make  a  collection  of  cartoons  that  you 
think  are  particularly  good,  and  explain  what  each  means. 

Is  any  propaganda  being  conducted  now  in  the  newspapers  you  read? 
If  so,  explain  what  it  is. 

To  what  extent  are  newspaper  and  magazine  advertisements  useful  in 
your  home? 


Bi|yaJiLi.A,Aik 

_,^ 

wmmvmmi 

l^HB^mBB^^MBMB  iiliHW'ii '  "  f  "*3B>  ^   " 

Transportation  and  Communication 
Terminal  Railway  Station  (right)  and  City  Post-OfEce  (left),  Washington,  D.  C. 

Congress  was  given  power  by  the  Constitution  "to  establish 
post-offices  and  post- roads."     There  had  been  a  postal  service 
in  the  colonies  before  the  Revolution.     During  the  postoffices 
Revolution   Benjamin  Franklin  was  made   Post-  and  post- 
master General,  and  he  made  the  service  as  effective 
as  it  could  well  be  made  under  the  conditions  that  existed  in 
those  times.     The  plan  that  he  devised  was  continued  after 
the  Constitution  was  adopted.     In  those  days  mails  were  sent 
from  New  York  to  Boston  and  to  Philadelphia  two  or  three  times 


28o  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

a  week.  They  were  carried  on  horseback  or  by  stage  and  by 
boat.  Sometimes  a  month  was  consumed  by  a  trip  that  can 
now  be  made  in  a  half-day.  Postage  cost  from  six  cents  to 
twenty-five  cents  for  each  letter,  according  to  the  distance  it 
was  carried,  and  had  to  be  paid  in  cash  in  advance.  Postage 
stamps  were  not  introduced  until  1847.  Often  mail  was  allowed 
to  accumulate  until  there  was  enough  to  pay  for  the  trip.  The 
isolation  of  a  remote  rural  community  can  well  be  imagined 
where  the  difficulties  of  communication  were  so  great,  and 
where  the  scarcity  of  money  made  postage  an  important  item. 
In  1918  there  were  54,345  post-offices  in  the  United  States 
managed  by  the  Post-Office  Department  at  Washington, 
Rural  mail  besides  nearly  600  in  the  Philippines  managed  by 
routes  j^j-^g  \Yg^j-  Department,  and  a  few  in  the  Panama 

Canal  Zone.  Of  the  3030  counties  in  the  United  States,  3008 
had  rural  mail  routes  aggregating  more  than  a  million  miles  in 
extent,  serving  more  than  6  million  families,  and  costing  for 
operation  more  than  53  million  dollars.  This  cost,  however 
amounts  to  only  about  $1.90  for  each  person  served,  or  a  little 
more  than  one  cent  for  each  piece  of  mail  handled.  The  aim  is 
to  make  the  postal  service  pay  for  itself,  and  in  1918  the  receipts 
exceeded  the  expenditures  by  more  than  60  million  dollars. 

The  Post-Office  Department  not  only  provides  for  the  trans- 
portation of  ordinary  mail,  but  through  its  post-offices  it  sells 

money  orders  for  the  transmission  of  money  safely 
^er*"^e  of  through  the  mails ;  it  operates  the  parcel  post  by 
the  Post-  which  merchandise    may   be  transported,  includ- 

ofpartment      ^"8  ^^^^  produce  of  many  kinds  (see  p.  158);  it 

administers  the  postal  savings  system  (see  p. 
186).  One  of  the  interesting  divisions  of  the  Post-Office  De- 
partment is  the  Division  of  Dead  Letters,  to  which  is  returned 
all  mail  that  fails  to  reach  its  destination.  In  1918  there  were 
returned  to  the  Dead-Letter  Division  14,451,953  pieces  of 
mail.     In  these  "dead  letters"  there  were  drafts,  checks,  money 


COMMUNICATION 


281 


orders,  and  loose  money,   amounting  to  $4,194,839.68.     The 

failure  of  this  mail  to  reach  its  proper  destination  is  due  in 

very  large  measure  to  carelessness  in  addressing  and  to  failure 

to  place   on   the   envelope   or  package  a  return  address.     A 

great  deal  of  loss  and  inconvenience  could  be  avoided,  and  much 

labor  and  expense  saved  for  the  postal  service,  if  every  one  would 

see  that  every  piece  of  mail  sent  out  is  properly  addressed  and 

stamped,  and  has  a  return  address  in  the  upper  left-hand  corner. 

The  efficiency  of  the  postal  service  depends  very  largely  upon 

the  means  of  transportation,  from  steamship  and  railway  lines 

down     to  T,  . 

Transporta- 

the  COUn-  tion  of  the 
try  roads.  "^^^^ 
Nothing  else,  perhaps, 
has  stimulated  the  im- 
provement of  roads  so 
much  as  the  rural  mail 
service.  It  is  the 
power  granted  by  the 
Constitution  to  Con- 
gress to  establish  post- 
roads  that  enables  the 
Federal  government  to 
aid  the  states  in  road 
improvement  (see  p. 
259).  The  develop- 
ment of  fast  mail  trains 
and  the  introduction 
of  motor-truck  service 
have  been  important  steps  in  the  improvement  of  the  postal 
service  in  city  and  country.  The  latest  development  is  the  trans- 
portation of  mail  by  airplane.  An  aerial  mail  route  between 
Washington,  D.  C,  and  New  York  City  was  established  May  15, 
1918,  and  a  round  trip  daily  is  now  made  over  this  route,  regardless 


Courtesy  American  iM  agazine  of  Art. 

The  Mail  Train 
A  painting  by  F.  D.  Miller. 


282  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

of  weather  conditions.  The  flying  time  from  Washington 
to  New  York,  with  a  stop  at  Philadelphia,  averages  two 
hours  and  thirty  minutes,  or  one  half  the  time  of  the  fastest 
trains.  The  Post-Office  Department  is  planning  an  extensive 
airplane  mail  service  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  with 
various  side  lines ;  also  to  the  West  Indies,  Panama,  and  South 
America.  The  routes  are  partially  worked  out,  and  trial 
trips  have  been  made  in  some  cases,  as  between  New  York  and 
Chicago. 

We  need  only  mention  the  important  part  played  by  the 
telegraph,  the  submarine  cable,  and  radio-communication,  in 
binding  together  our  nation  and  the  world  as  a 
e  egrap  ^j^^^g^  Without  them  the  modern  newspaper, 
with  its  daily  news  from  every  corner  of  the  globe,  would  be 
impossible,  our  cooperation  in  the  great  World  War  would  have 
been  extremely  difi&cult,  and  the  President  probably  would  not 
have  left  the  United  States  to  participate  in  the  peace  negotia- 
tions at  Paris.  Although  the  first  telegraph  line  in  the  United 
States  was  owned  and  operated  by  the  government  as  a  part 
of  the  postal  service,  the  telegraph  service  of  the  country  has 
since  been  in  the  hands  of  private  corporations;  except  that 
during  the  war  the  Post-Office  Department  took  over  the 
management  of  the  telegraph  and  the  telephone,  as  the  Rail- 
road Administration  took  over  the  transportation  lines. 

As  this  chapter  is  being  written,  word  has  come  that  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  has  talked  by  wireless  telephone  with  the 
-Phe  President  of  the  United  States  while  the  latter  was 

telephone  goo  miles  out  at  sea  on  his  return  from  France. 
At  the  close  of  the  war  American  aviators  were  talking  with 
one  another  from  airplane  to  airplane,  and  receiving  orders 
from  the  ground,  by  wireless  telephone.  These  instances 
suggest  new  possibilities  of  communication  in  the  near  future. 
Already  the  ordinary  telephone  has  practically  made  over  our 
community  life  in  many  particulars.     We  can  hardly  estimate 


COMMUNICATION 


283 


its  value  in  business  and  home  life,  in  the  city  or  on  the  farm. 
There  are  about  8000  rural  telephone  systems  in  the  United 
States  serving  the  homes  of  two  million  farmers.  In  191 2,  out 
of  seven  hundred  and  eighteen  telephone  systems  in  North 
Carolina,  about  six  hundred  and  fifty  were  country  telephone 


United  States  Postal  Service  Air  Plane 
The  pilot  has  his  route  map  fastened  to  his  knee  for  ready  reference. 

systems  owned  and  operated  privately  by  groups  of  farmers. 
These  included  about  20,000  telephones  and  used  approximately 
35,000  miles  of  wire. 

To  call  a  neighbor  and  ask  for  the  exchange  of  labor  on  certain  work,  as 
threshing,  haying,  etc.,  is  only  the  work  of  a  moment.     To  have  a  definite 
answer   immediately   is   often   worth   much.     To  be    able    Service  of 
to   'phone    the    village   storekeeper,   who    runs   a    country    the  rural 
delivery,  and  ask  that  supplies  be  sent  out  is  a  great  con-    telephone 
venience  to  the  housewife.     To  'phone  the  implement  dealer  and  learn 
whether  he  has  needed  repairs  in  stock  and,  if  so,  to  have  them  sent 


284  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

out  on  the  next  trolley  car,  if  not  to  ask  him  to  telegraph  the  factory  to 
forward  them  immediately  by  express,  is  a  saving  of  time  that  often  amounts 
to  a  large  saving  when  the  planting  or  harvesting  of  crops  is  delayed  because 
of  needed  repairs. 

.  .  .  farm  homes  have  been  saved  from  destruction  by  fire  because  of 
prompt  help  secured  by  word  over  the  telephone;  .  .  .  valuable  animals 
have  been  saved  through  the  early  arrival  of  the  veterinarian  who  was 
summoned  by  'phone.  .  .  .  Many  an  itinerant  sharper's  plans  have  been 
frustrated.  .  .  .  The  sharper  in  disgust  turns  to  other  fields  where  there 
are  no  telephones  over  which  to  notify  his  prospective  victims  of  his  game. 

Business  appointments,  social  appointments,  discussions  of  social  and 
church  plans,  to  say  nothing  of  the  mere  friendly  exchange  of  greeting 
over  the  telephone  have  probably  compensated  every  owner  of  a  rural 
telephone  many  times  over  for  the  expense  of  it,  if  all  business  advantages 
were  ignored. 

...  At  some  seasons  of  the  year  the  general  summons  to  the  'phone 
gives  notice  that  central  is  ready  to  report  the  weather  bureau's  prognosti- 
cation for  the  following  day.  .  .  } 

The  cost  of  this  important  aid  to  community  Hfe  has  been 
reduced  to  a  small  amount  in  many  rural  districts  by  the  organi- 
zation of  local  cooperative  telephone  companies. 

Ask  at  home,  or  have  committee  interview  postmaster : 

How  is  the  postmaster  in  your  post-office  chosen  ?  Are  all  postmasters 
chosen  in  the  same  way? 

What  are  first-class,  second-class,  third-class,  and  fourth-class  post-ofl&ces? 

How  are  rural  mail-carriers  chosen? 

What  is  a  "star  mail  route,"  and  how  does  it  differ  from  an  ordinary 
rural  route?     Are  there  any  "star  routes"  in  your  county? 

What  constitute  first-class,  second-class,  third-class,  and  fourth-class 
mail?     What  is  the  rate  of  postage  on  each? 

Has  rural  mail  delivery  had  the  effect  of  causing  road  improvement  in 
your  county?     If  so,  give  instances. 

From  the  office  of  a  local  newspaper  find  out  about  the  work  of  the 
Associated  Press  or  similar  news  agency. 

Why  does  the  work  of  a  newspaper  reporter  carry  with  it  great  respon- 
sibility? 

'  "Rural  Conveniences,"  by  H.  E.  Van  Norman,  in  the  Annals  of  the  American 
Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science,  March,  1912,  p.  163. 


COMMUNICATION  285 

Who  was  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse?  Who  is  Alexander  Graham  Bell? 
Marconi  ? 

What  particular  advantages  has  the  telephone  brought  to  your  com- 
munity? to  your  home? 

Is  there  a  cooperative  telephone  company  in  your  community?  If  so, 
how  is  it  organized? 

If  possible,  visit  a  telephone  exchange  and  report  on  what  you  see. 

Write  a  theme  on  "Modern  means  of  communication  and  the  growth  of 
a  world  community." 

READINGS 

In  Lessons  in  Community  and.  National  Life: 
Series  B  :  Lesson  10,  Telephone  and  telegraph. 
Series  C  :  Lesson    i,  The  war  and  aeroplanes. 
Lesson    9,  Inventions. 
The  development  of  writing  : 

Picture  Writing  of  the  American  Indians,  loth  Annual  Report  of  the  U.  S.  Bureau 
of  Ethnology,  1 888-1 889.     This  is  profusely  illustrated  and  very  interesting. 
The  volume  may  be  in  the  public  library.     It  may  be  difficult  to  obtain,  other- 
wise, unless  through  a  representative  in  Congress. 
Tylor,  E.  B.,  Anthropology,  chaps.  IV-VII  (D.  Appleton  &  Co.),  and  Early  History 
oj  Mankind,  chaps.  II-V  (Henry  Holt  &  Co.). 
Given,  J.  L.,  The  Making  oj  a  Newspaper  (Henry  Holt  &  Co.). 
Annual  Reports  of  the  Postmaster  General  of  the  United  States. 
Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  1918,  pp.  13-24.  29-31,  for  a  discussion  of 

the  necessity  of  eliminating  illiteracy  and  teaching  English  to  foreigners. 
There  is  much  magazine  literature  on  this  subject.     Americanization,  a  publication 
issued  regularly  by  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Education,  is  useful  in  this 
connection. 


CHAPTER  XrX 

EDUCATION 

Both  the  efficiency  and  the  democracy  of  a  community  de- 
pend upon  the  extent  and  the  kind  of  education  it  affords  to 
jj  •  its    people.       Autocratic    Germany    had    a   most 

depends  upon  thorough-going  system  of  education,  but  a  system 
e  ucation  ^|^^^  made  autocracy  possible.  The  common 
people  were  trained  to  be  efficient  workers,  and  thus  to  con- 
tribute to  the  national  strength ;  but  they  were  trained  to 
submit  to  authority,  and  not  to  exercise  control  over  it.  The 
kind  of  education  that  develops  leaders  was  given  only  to  the 
few.  The  leaders  of  the  German  people  were  imposed  upon 
them  from  above;  in  the  United  States  we  are  supposed  to 
choose  our  leaders.  In  a  nation  whose  aim  is  to  afford  to  every 
citizen  an  equal  opportunity  to  make  the  most  of  himself  and 
whose  people  are  self-governing,  education  must  be  widespread, 
it  must  develop  the  power  of  self-direction,  it  must  train  leaders, 
and  it  must  enable  the  people  to  choose  their  leaders  intelli- 
gently. WTien  Governor  Berkeley  of  Virginia  reported  to  the 
king  of  England  in  167 1,  "I  thank  God  there  are  no  free  schools 
nor  printing;  and  I  hope  we  shall  not  have  these  hundred 
years,"  he  spoke  for  the  autocratic  form  of  government  which  a 
hundred  years  later  led  the  colonies  to  revolt,  and  which  in  191 7 
forced  the  United  States  into  a  world  war. 

In  a  democracy  government  must  be  carried  on  largely  by 
means  of  education.  There  must  be  trained  leadership.  And 
g  since  the  aim  of  democratic  government  is  to  secure 

by  means  of  team  work  in  public  affairs,  the  people  must  have 
e  ucabon  ^^  tools  of  team  work,  such  as  a  common  language 
and  other  knowledge  that  makes  living  and  working  together 
possible ;    they  must  have  training  that  will  enable  them  to 

286 


EDUCATION 


287 


contribute  effectively  to  the  community's  work,  and  an  intelli- 
gent understanding  of  the  community's  aims  and  ideals.  And 
since  government  is  controlled  largely  by  public  opinion  (see 
p.  277),  the  people  must  have  an  intelligent  understanding 
of  the  community's  problems.  We  had  abundant  illustration 
during  the  recent  war  of  the  extent  to  which  our  government 
not  only  depended  upon  highly  educated  men  and  women  for 
leadership,  but  also  used  educational  methods  to  secure  its 
ends.     (For  illustrations,  see  pp.  82-83.) 


A  Pioneer  Schoolhouse  (1S2S) 

These  facts  explain  why  public  education  is  the  largest  single 
item  of  expense  in  our  government  (except  in  time  of  war).  In 
1914  nearly  600  million  dollars  were  spent  for  public  The  cost  of 
elementary  and  high  schools.  Some  200  million  education 
dollars  more  were  spent  for  private  elementary  and  high  schools, 
and  for  universities,  colleges,  and  normal  schools,  some  of 
which  are  public  and  some  private. 

If  democracy  is  to  be  safe  and  efficient,  every  member  must 
have  a  reasonable  education.     Every  state  now  has   -         j..     , 
a  compulsory  education  law,  though  these  laws  vary   educational 
greatly.     In  some  states  every  child  must  attend  "requirements 
school  for  seven  years  (7  to  14,  or  8  to  15),  and  in  one  state 


-"^^ 


288  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

(Maryland)  for  eight  years.  In  other  states  the  period  is  less, 
sometimes  as  little  as  four  years.  In  most  of  the  states  there 
is  an  additional  period,  usually  of  two  years  (14  to  16),  during 
which  children  must  remain  in  school  unless  they  go  to  work. 
As  a  rule  there  are  laws  that  forbid  the  employment  of  children 
in  industry  before  the  age  of  14.  In  some  states  they  may  go  to 
work  as  soon  as  they  reach  the  age  limit  regardless  of  what 
their  educational  qualifications  are;  in  others  they  must  have 
completed  the  eight  grades  of  the  elementary  school ;  in  others 
they  need  only  to  be  able  to  read  and  write ;  in  still  others  they 
must  have  finished  the  third,  fourth,  or  other  grades,  as  the  case 
may  be.  In  Massachusetts  pupils  must  remain  in  school  until  they 
have  completed  the  fourth  grade,  and  in  New  York  until  they 
can  read  and  write,  even  if  they  remain  until  they  are  21  to  do  it. 

The  length  of  the  school  term  required  by  law  varies  from 
three  months  in  three  states  to  nine  months  in  six  states. 
I  alit  f  Several  states  have  no  requirement  in  this  matter, 
educational  The  length  of  time  that  a  pupil  must  be  in  school 
opportunity  ^uj-ing  each  of  the  compulsory  years  varies  from 
sixty  days  to  the  full  school  term,  whatever  that  may  be. 
In  most  states,  but  not  in  all,  the  required  attendance  must  be 
during  consecutive  days  or  weeks.  The  compulsory  school 
laws  are  not  well  enforced  in  some  states.  The  facing  table 
shows  the  number  of  children  of  school  age  in  and  out  of 
school  in  the  several  states  in  1915-1916.  For  the  country  as 
a  whole,  17.4  per  cent  of  the  children  of  school  age  were  not  in 
school. 

"School  terms  are  so  short  in  many  states  and  compulsory 
attendance  is  so  badly  enforced  that  the  school  life  of  the  average 
person  growing  up  in  rural  sections  is  only  4.5  school  years  of 
140  days  each.  In  urban  communities  conditions  are  better, 
but  far  from  satisfactory."  ^ 

1  Bulletin,  igig,  No.  4,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education,  "A  Manual  of  Educational 
Legislation,"  p.  6. 


EDUCATION 


289 


Children  In  and  Out  of  School 

(U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education,  statistics,  1915-16) 


Number 

Per  Cent 

Number 

Per  Cent 

IN 

Private 
Schools 

Number 

Per  Cent 

Location 

Rank 

IN  Public 
Schools 

IN  Public 
Schools 

in 
Private 
Schools 

not  in 
School 

not  in 
School 

Alabama      .     . 

43 

514,601 

69.1 

17,187 

2.5 

208,815 

28.4 

Arizona   .     .     . 

14 

51,077 

81.7 

3,367 

5-4 

8,164 

12.9 

Arkansas      .     . 

24 

447,726 

82.0 

6,133 

1.1 

92,240 

16.9 

California    .     . 

— 

539,688 

— 

33,000 

— 

— 

— 

Colorado      .     . 

20 

184,471 

82.0 

7,000 

31 

33,651 

14.9 

Connecticut 

— 

234,609 

82.1 

52,293 

— 

1,419 

Delaware     .     . 

2 

45,327 

859 

5,000 

95 

2,442 

4.6 

Florida    .     .     . 

28 

198,365 

77.2 

8,500 

3-3 

49,657 

19-5 

Georgia 

41 

667,635 

73-2 

10,000 

1. 1 

234,592 

25-7 

Idaho 

15 

95,772 

84-7 

2,500 

2.2 

14,832 

131 

Illinois 

19 

1,084,640 

71.8 

213,760 

14.0 

215,730 

14.2 

Indiana 

18 

564,252 

80.2 

40,000 

5-7 

99,389 

14.1 

Iowa  . 

I 

525,579 

90.0 

42,000 

-7.2 

15,699 

2.8 

Kansas 

17 

402,860 

83.3 

16,051 

3-3 

64,820 

134 

Kentucky    .     . 

26 

537,008 

76.8 

33,352 

4.8 

129,016 

18.4 

Louisiana     . 

45 

320,400 

55-7 

38,159 

6.7 

214,412 

37.6 

Maine      .     .     . 

3 

149,149 

84.3 

17,207 

9.8 

10,467 

5-9 

Maryland     .     . 

7 

243,077 

68.0 

30,000 

23.6 

84,387 

8.4 

Massachusetts 

12 

604,023 

72.8 

122,000 

14.7 

104,092 

12.5 

Michigan     .     . 

6 

620,861 

82.8 

72,982 

9-5 

57,651 

7-7 

Minnesota   .     . 

21 

481,583 

78.0 

38,000 

6.2 

97,733 

15-8 

Mississippi  .     . 

31 

492,756 

77.6 

7,500 

1.1 

135,014 

21.3 

Missouri       .     . 

10 

721,752 

81.0 

65,000 

7.4 

103,438 

11.6 

Montana      .     . 

— 

102,768 

— 

7,000 

— 

— 

— 

Nebraska     .     . 

11 

292,725 

84.8 

12,000 

3-5 

40,326 

11.7 

Nevada  .     .     . 

35 

13,358 

76.3 

309 

1-7 

3,848 

22.0 

New  Hampshire 

9 

67,461 

68.7 

21,689 

22.0 

9,042 

9-3 

New  Jersey 

23 

540,287 

76.4 

48,000 

6.8 

118,942 

16.8 

New  Mexico     . 

44 

77,062 

64.8 

5,589 

4-7 

36,290 

30.5 

New  York    ._    . 

27 

1,625,777 

69-5 

278,000 

11.8 

432,388 

18.7 

North  Carolina 

'3, 

640,246 

84.0 

25,000 

3-2 

87,994 

12.8 

North  Dakota  . 

40 

151,647 

73-0 

3,500 

1.6 

52,864 

25-4 

Ohio   .     .     .     . 

22 

905,071 

74-3 

1 20,000 

9.8 

192,474 

15-9 

Oklahoma    .     . 

32 

515,493 

76.4 

14,915 

2.2 

145,190 

21.4 

Oregon    .     .     . 

25 

142,365 

77.6 

7,794 

4-2 

33,286 

18.2 

Pennsylvania   . 

30 

1,504,794 

70.8 

180,000 

8.5 

438,892 

20.7 

Rhode  Island    . 

34 

89,879 

63.2 

21,646 

15-2 

30,627 

21.6 

South  Carolina 

33 

415,766 

76.6 

10,000 

1-9 

116,817 

21-5 

South  Dakota  . 

42 

134,136 

69s 

4,500 

2.2 

54,771 

28.3 

Tennessee    .     . 

4 

610,235 

88.8 

27,000 

4.0 

49,752 

7.2 

Texas      .     .     . 

39 

1,017,08; 

73-0 

28,000 

2.0 

343,143 

25.0 

Utah  .     .     .     . 

8 

108,359 

86.0 

7,000 

5-4 

10,699 

8.6 

Vermont      .     . 

16 

65,380 

77-3 

8,000 

9-4 

11,289 

13-3 

Virginia  .     .     . 

38 

486,134 

73-1 

17,568 

2.6 

172,014 

243 

Washington 

37 

245,419 

730 

10,261 

30 

80,468 

24.0 

West  Virginia  . 

29 

313,873 

78.2 

4,839 

1-3 

82,407 

20.5 

Wisconsin    .     . 

36 

458,102 

66.8 

70,000 

10.2 

158,244 

23.0 

Wyoming     .     . 

5 

32,630 

88.0 

1,600 

4.4 

2,831 

7.6 

Unitec 

1  States 

— 

20,351,687 

75-8 

1,820,210 

6.8 

4,675,079 

17.4 

290 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


The  facing  table  shows  the  number  of  days  the  public 
schools  were  open,  the  average  number  of  days  of  attendance 
by  each  pupil  enrolled,  and  the  rank  of  the  state  in  each  case, 
for  each  state  in  the  school  year  1915-1916. 


1.  Pennsylvania. 

2.  Nebraska. 

3.  Wisconsin.  ,_ 

Some  Typical  Country  Schools 

Why  would  it  not  be  more  democratic  to  permit  children  to  attend 
school  or  not  as  they  or  their  parents  wish  ? 

Discuss  the  statement  that  "education  makes  people  free."  Compare 
this  statement  with  a  somewhat  similar  statement  made  on  page  136, 
Chapter  XL 

What  is  the  compulsory  school  age  in  your  state  ? 

Is  wide  variation  in  the  compulsory  school  age  among  the  different 
states  a  good  thing?     Why? 

Is  the  compulsory  school  law  rigidly  enforced  in  your  state?  How  is  it 
enforced  ? 


EDUCATION 


291 


School  Year  and  Attendance 

Average  number  of  days  public  schools  were  kept  open,  average  number  of  days  of  attendance 
by  each  pupil  enrolled,  and  average  per  cent  of  attendance  in  each  state  in  1915-16  * 


Location 


Alabama 

Arizona 

Arkansas 

California 

Colorado 

Connecticut 

Delaware 

Florida 

Georgia 

Idaho     

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

Louisiana 

Maine 

Maryland 

Massachusetts 

Michigan 

Minnesota 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

Montana 

Nebraska 

Nevada 

New  Hampshire 

New  Jersey 

New  Mexico 

New  York 

North  Carolina         .... 

North  Dakota 

Ohio 

Oklahoma 

Oregon 

Pennsylvania 

Rhode  Island 

South  Carolina 

South  Dakota 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Utah 

Vermont 

Virginia 

Washington 

West  Virginia 

Wisconsin 

Wyoming 

United  States  (continental) 


Days  Schools 
Were  Open 


Rank        Number 


14 
9 
32 
33 
13 
I 
44 
19 
42 
38 
26 
10 
36 


I3S-0 
160.0 
134-9 
176.0 
167.0 
183.2 
170.7 
130.1 
136.7 
'  1 54-9 
164.0 
155-0 
170.0 
163-7 
144.0 
134-9 
171. 2 
178.0 
181.7 

1  172.0 
167.7 

2  123.0 
161.8 
176.7 

163.5 
166. 1 
171-5 

1  183.0 
142-S 
190.2 
124.2 

1  172.6 
175-3 
152-0 
151-0 
172.7 
194-3 
108.S 
170.0 
123.8 
1350 
163.0 
I75-0 
141.0 
174.6 
1350 
173-7 
1S3-0 


160.3 


Days  Attended 


Average  Per  Cent   Rank 


107 

91 

134 

122 

142 

93 

94 

98 

los 

147 

127 

128, 

126 

95 

99 

133 

124 

153 

139 

127 

^75 

118 

129 

3  120 

124 

138 

142, 

95 

154 

85 

119 

148 

95 

135 

139 

154 

72 

118 

87 

91 

132 

140, 

98 

136 

96 

140 

117 


62.9 
67.1 

I  68.0 
76.2 
73-1 
77-8 
54-8 
72.8 
69.0 

'  72.0 


75.8 
77-3 
65-9 
73-7 
78.2 
69-7 
84.2 
81.3 
75-9 
•61.3 
73-2 
73-2 
73-9 
75-2 
80.8 
78.1 
66.7 
81.1 
68.7 
69.2 
84.9 
63.1 
89.7 
80.6 
79-7 
67.1 
70.0 
70.5 
68.0 
81.2 
80.1 
69.8 
78.0 
71-3 
81.0 

76. S 


7S-S 


43 
39 
38 
20 
27 
17 
45 
28 
36 
29 


41 
25 
14 
34 
4 
6 


26 
26 
24 
23 
10 
15 
40 

8 
37 
35 

3 
42 


13 
39 
32 
31 
38 

7 
12 
33 
16 
30 

9 
19 


*  From  statistics,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education. 
^  Statistics,  1913-14.  s  Estimated. 


1  Statistics,  1914-15. 


292  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

How  much  of  each  year  must  a  child  spend  in  school  during  the  com- 
pulsory period  in  your  state? 

Investigate  the  reasons  given  by  pupils  in  your  community  for  leaving 
school  before  completing  the  course,  and  report. 

What  rank  does  your  state  hold  with  respect  to  length  of  term?  to 
average  daily  attendance  of  pupils?     (See  table.) 

What  rank  does  your  state  hold  with  respect  to  number  of  children  of 
school  age  in  and  out  of  school?     (See  table.) 

What  is  the  length  of  your  own  school  year?  Do  you  think  it  should  be 
lengthened?     Why? 

Get  from  your  teacher  or  principal  the  average  daily  attendance  for 
each  pupil  enrolled  in  your  school;  in  your  county.  Do  you  think  this 
record  could  be  improved? 

Is  there  any  good  reason  why  the  school  year  should  be  shorter  in  rural 
communities  than  in  cities? 

It  is  advocated  by  many  that  schools  should  be  open  the  year  round. 
What  advantages  can  you  see  in  the  plan?     Debate  the  question. 

The  pioneer  family  was  dependent  at  first  upon  its  own  efforts 
for  the  education  of  its  children.  When  other  families  came, 
The  district  a  schoolhouse  was  built,  a  teacher  employed,  and 
school  lY^Q  work  of  teaching  the  elements  of  knowledge 

was  handed  over  to  the  school.  This  was  the  origin  of  the 
"district  school,"  which  is  characteristic  of  pioneer  conditions. 
As  the  population  grew  and  local  government  was  organized, 
the  unit  of  local  government  tended  to  become  the  unit  for 
school  administration.  In  New  England  this  was  the  "town" 
or  township;  in  the  South  it  was  the  county;  in  the  West  it 
was  sometimes  the  township  and  sometimes  the  county,  or 
else  a  combination  of  the  two.  In  a  large  number  of  the  western 
states,  however,  and  in  a  few  of  the  eastern  states,  the  district 
school  persists  in  many  rural  communities,  a  relic  of  pioneer 
conditions.  It  is  often  felt  that  it  is  more  democratic  for 
each  district  to  administer  its  own  school,  subject  only  to  the 
laws  of  the  state. 

Under  the  district  system  there  is  an  annual  school  meeting 
of  the  voters  of  the  district,  who  vote  the  school  taxes,  determine 


5TATE    DEPARTMENT 
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COUNTY  SUPER  IN  TEN  DENT  OF  SCHOOLS 


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SUBJECT 
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Diagrams  of  Organization 

I.    County  System.  II.    State  System. 

293 


294  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

the  length  of  the  school  year,  and  elect  a  board  of  education  or 
school  trustees.  The  trustees  look  after  the  school  property, 
choose  the  teacher  and  fix  his  salary,  and  in  a  general  way 
manage  the  school  business.  Each  school  is  independent  of 
all  other  schools. 

Under  the  township  system  all  of  the  schools  of  the  town- 
ship are  administered  by  a  township  board  or  committee  (or 
Township  '  by  a  single  trustee  in  Indiana)  elected  by  the 
organization  people  of  the  township.  The  chief  advantages 
over  the  district  system  are  that  all  the  schools  of  the  township 
are  administered  by  a  single  plan,  the  taxes  are  apportioned  to 
the  schools  according  to  needs,  and  pupils  may  be  transferred 
from  one  school  to  another  at  convenience.  In  New  England 
two  or  three  townships  are  sometimes  united  into  a  "union 
district"  supervised  by  a  single  superintendent. 

Under  the  county  system  all  the  schools  of  the  county  are 
under  the  management  of  a  county  board  and,  usually,  a  county 
County  superintendent.     In  29  of  the  39  states  that  have 

organization  county  superintendents  they  are  elected  by  the 
people,  in  8  states  they  are  appointed  by  the  county  board,  in 
Delaware  they  are  appointed  by  the  governor,  and  in  New 
Jersey  by  the  state  commissioner  of  education.  Election  of  the 
county  superintendent  is  losing  favor  on  the  ground  that  there 
is  less  assurance  of  securing  a  highly  trained  man.  The  chart 
on  page  293  shows  a  plan  of  organization  for  county  schools 
proposed  to  the  legislature  of  South  Dakota  by  the  United  States 
Bureau  of  Education. 

Among  the  advantages  of  the  county  system  are  greater 
Advantages  economy,  more  nearly  equal  educational  oppor- 
of  school  tunity  for  all  children  of  the  county,  and  better 

conso  ation  supervision  because  of  the  larger  funds  available 
for  this  purpose.  It  is  under  the  county  system  of  organization 
that  the  movement  for  school  consolidation  is  progressing  most 
rapidly.     By  this  is  meant  the  union  of  a  number  of  small, 


EDUCATION  295 

poorly  equipped  schools  into  a  larger,  well-graded,  and  well- 
equipped  school.  Its  advantages  may  best  be  suggested  by  an 
example. 

In  Randolph  County,  Indiana,  there  were,  in  1908,  128  one-room  schools 
in  the  open  country,  with  an  attendance  of  from  12  to  60  pupils  doing 
grade  work  only ;  6  two-room  schools  in  hamlets,  with  grade  work  only ;  2 
three-room  schools  in  villages,  with  grade  work  and  two  years  of  high  school 
work  with  a  six  months'  term;   3   four-room  village   schools,  with  grade 


The  First  Step  Toward  Consolidation  at  Rolf,  Iowa 

.While  waiting  for  the  new  consolidated  school  building  to  be  erected,  the  one-room 
buildings  of  the  schools  to  be  consolidated  were  moved  from  their  widely  separated 
sites  to  the  new  site. 


work  and  three  years  of  high  school  work  with  a  six  months'  term ;  i  six- 
room  school  in  a  town,  with  grade  work  and  four  years  of  high  school  work 
with  an  eight  months'  term. 

By  consolidation,  113  one-room  schools  and  4  two-room  schools  were 
supplanted  by  20  consolidated  schools  with  two  grade  teachers ;  6  with  four 
grade  teachers ;  6  with  five  grade  teachers ;  2  with  six  grade  teachers ;  and 
I  with  eight  grade  teachers  —  a  total  of  86  grade  teachers  doing  the  work 
formerly  done  by  148  teachers,  and  doing  it  better.  Fifteen  of  the  schools 
have  a  four-year  high  school  course  with  an  eight  months'  term.  For  the 
five-year  period  preceding  consolidation  not  more  than  half  of  the  eighth- 
grade  pupils  attended  high  school;  after  consolidation  an  average  of  96 
per  cent  of  the  eighth-grade  pupils  went  to  high  school. 

The  pupils  are  transported  to  and  from  school  in  hacks  or  motor-busses 
heated  in  winter.    The  school  buildings  are  equipped  with  running  water, 


296 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


modern  heating  and  sanitation,  telephone,  rest  rooms  for  pupils  and  teachers, 
gymnasiums  and  outdoor  physical  apparatus,  physical  training  and  athletic 
competition  being  carried  on  under  supervision.  The  courses  of  study  have 
been  enriched,  increased  attention  is  given  to  vocational  work,  and  music 
and  art  receive  attention  impossible  in  the  district  schools.  Eleven  of  the 
schools  have  orchestras,  and  concerts  are  held  which  the  community  as 
well  as  the  schools  attend.  There  are  auditoriums  used  for  community 
lectures  and  concerts,  Sunday-school  conventions,  community  sings,  parent- 
teachers'  meetings,  and  exhibits  of  various  kinds. 


The  New  Consolidated  School  at  Rolf,  Iowa 

Report  on  the  following : 

School  life  in  colonial  New  England ;  in  colonial  Virginia. 

The  first  schools  in  your  own  community  —  length  of  school  term, 
attendance,  whether  private  or  public,  qualifications  of  teachers,  methods 
of  teaching. 

What  the  family  does  for  the  education  of  the  children  that  the  school 
cannot  do.     What  the  school  does  that  the  family  cannot  do. 

Organization  of  the  schools  in  your  district,  township,  county,  or  city. 

Advantages  of  graded  schools  over  ungraded  schools. 

Consolidation  of  schools  in  your  county  or  state. 

Debate  the  question :  The  district  school  is  more  democratic  than  the 
county  organization. 

Method  of  selection  of  the  superintendent  of  your  county  and  town. 
Length  of  term  of  office. 

Organization,  powers,  mode  of  election,  etc.,  of  your  local  board  of 
education. 


EDUCATION 


297 


Authority,  or  lack  of  authority,  of  your  county  superintendent  over  the 
schools  of  cities  and  large  towns  in  the  county. 

Qualifications  prescribed  for  teachers  in  your  county  or  town.  How 
selected. 

How  are  school  books  selected?  Are  they  free  to  pupils?  Advantages 
and  disadvantages  of  free  textbooks. 

Evidence  that  public  education  is  or  is  not  a  matter  of  common  interest 
to  the  people  of  your  community. 


Jordan  High  School,  Salt^  Lake  City,  Utah 

Examples  of  team  work,  or  lack  of  it,  in  your  community  in  the  interest 
of  the  schools. 

Are  the  methods  by  which  school  authorities  are  chosen  in  your  com- 
munity calculated  to  secure  the  best  leadership? 

How  the  duties  relating  to  the  schools  are  divided  between  your  school 
board  and  the  superintendent.  Does  your  board  perform  any  duties  that 
should  be  performed  by  the  superintendent,  or  vice  versa  ?     Explain. 

Parent-teacher  organizations  in  your  community  and  their  service. 

Public  education  was  long  restricted  to  the  elementary  school. 
High  schools  were  at  first  private  academies  designed  to  prepare 
for  college  the  few  who  wished  to  continue  their  education. 
While  they  still  continue  to  give  preparation  for  college,  their 
development  in  recent  years  has  been  largely  for  the  benefit  of 


298  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

the  greater  number  of  boys  and  girls  who  do  not  expect  to  go  to 
Development  college.  The  high  school  naturally  made  its  first 
of  the  appearance  in  cities.     It  requires  more  elaborate 

^  ^'^  °°  equipment  and  more  highly  trained  teachers,  and 
its  cost  is  at  least  twice  that  of  elementary  schools.  These  facts, 
together  with  the  small  and  scattered  population  of  rural  com- 
munities, have  been  obstacles  to  the  development  of  rural  high 
schools.  The  consolidated  school  has  in  large  measure  removed 
these  obstacles,  and  a  high  school  education  is  rapidly  becoming  as 
available  for  rural  boys  and  girls  as  for  those  who  live  in  cities. 

Report  on : 

The  history  of  high  school  development  in  your  community. 

The  percentage  of  pupils  in  your  community  who  go  to  high  school  after 

completing  the  elementary  school. 

"What  the  high  school  does  for  my  community." 

"My  reasons  for  going  (or  not  going)  to  high  school." 

The  cost  per  pupil  in  the  high  school  in  your  community  as  compared 

with  that  in  the  elementary  school. 

Education  must  not  only  be  within  the  reach  of  every  citizen 
of  a  democracy,  but  it  must  be  of  a  kind  that  will  fit  him  to  play 
well  his  part  as  a  member  of  the  community. 

The  public  schools  now  give  more  attention  than  formerly 
to  the  physical  education  and  welfare  of  the  pupils  (see  Chapter 

Education        ^^^'    PP"    314,   S^s)-      The  wide  prevalence   of 
for  physical       physical  defects  disclosed  in  the  effort  to  raise  an 
'^^^^  army  during  the  recent  war  will  doubtless  cause 

still  greater  emphasis  to  be  placed  on  this  aspect  of  education. 
Physical  fitness  is  the  foundation  of  good  citizenship.  Provision 
for  physical  education  and  welfare  has  found  its  way  into 
rural  schools  more  slowly  than  in  city  schools,  as  the  following 
table  shows.  But  our  nation  can  be  neither  efficient  nor  fully 
democratic  until  the  physical  well-being  of  all  its  citizens  is 
provided  for,  and  the  responsibility  rests  largely  with  the  pub- 
lic school. 


EDUCATION  299 

Health  Work  in  City  and  Rural  Schools  of  the  United  States^ 


Activity 


Medical  inspection  laws 

in  23  states. 
Medical     inspection 

practiced. 
Dental    inspection     by 

dentists. 
Dental  clinics. 


Clinics  for  eye  and  nose 
defects. 

Nurses. 

Open  air  classes. 

Athletics  and  recrea- 
tion ;  organized  with 
appropriate  facilities 
and  equipment. 

Warm  lunches  in  schools. 


For  City  Children 


In  12  states  required 

for  cities  only. 
In  over  400  cities. 

In  69  cities. 

In  50  cities. 

In  cities. 

750  in  135  cities. 
In  cities  only. 
Practically  all   cities 
and  large  towns. 


In  over  90    cities  in 
21  states. 


For  Country  Children 


In  7  states  required 
for  rural  schools. 

In  parts  of  130  coun- 
ties in  13  states. 

Permitted  in  2  states 
but  not  yet  provided. 

In  one  rural  county 
(St.  John's  County, 
Florida). 

None. 

In  1 2-20  rural  districts. 

Little  provision  in  ru- 
ral schools. 


In     a     few     scattered 
schools  in  9  states. 


It  is  a  part  of  the  business  of  education  to  fit  every  citizen 
to  earn  a  living,  for  every  efficient  citizen  must  be  self-supporting 
and  able  to  contribute  effectively  to  the  productive  Education  for 
work  of  the  community.  The  interdependence  of  vocational 
all  occupations  in  modern  industry  and  the 
necessity  for  every  worker  to  be  a  specialist  make  training 
essential  for  every  worker  who  is  to  attain  success  for  himself 
and  contribute  his  full  share  to  the  community's  work.  The 
war  emphasized  strongly  the  nation's  dependence  upon  trained 
workers  in  every  field  of  industry. 

One  of  the  direct  results  of  war  needs  was  the  passage  by 
Congress,   in   1917,   of   the  Smith-Hughes  Act,  providing  for 

1  Adapted  from  Dr.  Thomas  D.  Wood,  jn  New  York   Times  Magazine,  April  2, 
1916. 


300 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


national 
years  of 

National 
aid  for 
vocational 
education 


aid  for  vocational  instruction  for  persons  over  14 
age  who  have  already  entered  upon,  or  are  preparing 
to  enter,  some  trade.  The  instruction  given  under 
the  terms  of  this  act  must  be  of  less  than  college 
grade.  Every  state  in  the  Union  has  met  the 
conditions  imposed  by  this  law. 


The  Smith-Hughes  Act  created  a  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education 
to  consist  of  the  Secretaries  of  the  Departments  of  Agriculture,  Commerce 
and  Labor,  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education,  and  three  citizens 
appointed  by  the  President,  one  to  represent  labor  interests,  one  commercial 


Domestic^  Science  in  the  Jordan  High  School 

and  manufacturing  interests,  and  the  third  agricultural  interests.  The  law 
appropriates  national  funds  to  be  given  to  the  state  for  the  establishment 
of  vocational  schools  and  for  the  training  of  teachers  for  these  schools; 
but  each  state  must  appropriate  an  amount  equal  to  that  received  from  the 
national  government.  Each  state  must  also  have  a  board  for  vocational 
education,  through  which  the  national  board  has  its  dealings  with  the  state. 

The  duty  of  the  regular  elementary  and  high  schools  is  not  to 

cultivate  special  vocational  skills ;   not  to  turn  out 
Breadth  of  .  . 

preparation       trained  farmers,  or  mechanics,  and  so  on.     But 

for  vocational  ^j^g  work  of  these  schools  should  be  such  that  their 
life 

graduates  will  be  better  farmers,  or  mechanics,  or 

lawyers,  or  doctors,  or  engineers,  or  teachers,  than  they  would 


EDUCATION 


301 


be  without  it.  First  of  all  these  schools  should  produce  workers 
who  are  physically  fit  for  the  work  they  enter.  They  should 
educate  the  hand  and  the  eye  along  with  the  brain.  They 
should  cultivate  habits  of  working  together,  give  instruction 
regarding  the  significance  of  all  work  in  community  and  national 
life,  and  by  every  means  possible  prepare  the  pupil  to  make  a 
wise  choice  of  vocation  (see  p.  135).  Moreover,  the  schools 
should  provide  a  breadth  of  education  that  wUl  "  transmute  days 
of  dreary  work  into  happier  lives." 


The  Gymnasium  in  the  Jordan  High  School 

Mr.  Herbert  Quick  in  his  story  of  "The  Brown  Making  life 
Mouse,"  which  is  a  plea  for  better  rural  schools,  educational 
says: 

Let  us  cease  thinking  so  much  of  agricultural  education,  and  devote 
ourselves  to  educational  agriculture.     So  will  the  nation  be  made  strong. 

The  life  we  live,  even  on  the  farm,  is  full  of  science  and  history, 
civics  and  economics,  arithmetic  and  geography,  poetry  and 
art.  The  modern  school  helps  the  pupil  to  find  these  things  in 
his  daily  life  and,  having  found  them,  to  apply  them  to  living 
for  his  profit  and  enjoyment.     For  this  reason  it  works  largely 


302 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


through  the  "home  project,"  boys'  and  girls'  clubs,  gardening, 
and  many  other  activities. 
A  recent  writer  has  said. 

What  is  the  true  end  of  American  education  ?  Is  it  life  or  a  living  ?  .  .  . 
Education  finds  itself  face  to  face  with  a  bigger  thing  than  life  or  the  getting 
of  a  living.  It  is  face  to  face  with  a  big  enough  thing  to  die  for  in  France, 
a  big  enough  thing  to  go  to  school  for  in  America.  .  .  .  Neither  life  nor 
the  getting  of  a  living,  but  living  together,  this  must  be  the  single  public  end 
of  a  common  Dublic  education  hereaf  ter.^ 


Education 
for  living 
together 


A  "Tf  \(  herage" 
Home  of  the  Principal,  Jordan  High  School. 

The  more  nearly  the  conditions  of  living  in  the 
school  community  correspond  to  the  conditions  of 
living  in  the  community  outside  of  school,  the 
better  the  training  afforded  for  living  together.  In  many 
schools  the  spirit  and  methods  of  community  life  prevail,  even  to 
the  extent  of  school  government  in  which  the  pupils  participate. 

1  D.  R.  Sharp,  "Patrons  of  Democracy,"  in  Atlantic  Monthly,  November,  1919, 
p.  650. 


EDUCATION 


303 


Of  this  community  pupils  and  teachers  are  members  with  certain  common 
interests.  Cooperation  is  the  keynote  of  the  community  Ufe.  The  reahza- 
tion  of  this  cooperation  is  seen  in  the  classrooms,  in  study  halls,  in  the  assem- 
bly room,  in  the  corridors,  on  the  playground.  It  manifests  itself  in  the 
method  of  preparing  and  conducting  recitations ;  in  the  care  of  school 
property ;  in  protecting  the  rights  of  younger  children ;  in  maintaining  the 
sanitary  conditions  of  the  building  and  grounds;  in  the  elimination  of 
cases  of  "discipHne"  and  of  irregularity  of  attendance;  in  the  preparation 
and  conduct  of  opening  exercises,  school  entertainments,  and  graduating 
exercises ;  in  beautifying  the  school  grounds ;  in  the  making  of  repairs  and 
equipment  for  "our  school";  in  fact,  in  every  aspect  of  the  school  life.' 


M| 

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ffimJ^M 

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'Making  Life  Educational" 


The  schoolhouse  is  becoming  more  and  more  the  center  of 
community  Hfe.  We  have  noticed  how,  in  Randolph  County, 
Indiana,  the  consoHdated  school  building  affords  a  ^j^^  school  as 
meeting  place  for  all  sorts  of  community  activities  a  community 


(p.  296). 
that: 


The  school  law  of  California  provides 


center 


1  "Civic  Education  in  Elementary  Schools,"  p.  31,  United  States  Bureau  of  Ed- 
ucation Bulletin,  1915,  No.  17. 


304  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

There  is  hereby  established  a  civic  center  at  each  and  every  public 
schoolhouse  within  the  State  of  California,  where  the  citizens  of  the  respec- 
tive public  school  districts  .  .  .  may  engage  in  supervised  recreational 
activities,  and  where  they  may  meet  and  discuss  .  .  .  any  and  all  subjects 
and  questions  which  in  their  judgment  may  appertain  to  the  educational, 
political,  economic,  artistic,  and  moral  interests  of  the  respective  com- 
munities in  which  they  may  reside;  Provided,  that  such  use  of  said  public 
schoolhouse  and  grounds  for  said  meetings  shall  in  no  wise  interfere  with 
such  use  and  occupancy  of  said  public  schoolhouse  and  grounds  as  is  now, 
or  hereafter  may  be,  required  for  the  purpose  of  said  public  schools  of  the 
State  of  California. 

Investigate  and  report  on  the  following : 

Provision  in  your  school  and  in  the  schools  of  your  state  for  health  work 
suggested  in  the  table  on  page  299. 

Other  provisions  in  your  school  for  the  physical  well-being  of  pupils. 

The  work  of  your  school  that  relates  directly  to  preparation  for  earning 
a  living. 

The  extent  to  which  a  high  school  can  make  a  farmer. 

The  operation  of  the  Smith-Hughes  Act  in  your  state  and  in  your  county 
or  town. 

The  meaning  of  the  quotation  from  "The  Brown  Mouse"  on  page  301. 

The  use  of  "home  projects"  by  your  school. 

The  meaning  of  the  statement  that  the  end  of  pubUc  education  is  "neither 
life  nor  the  getting  of  a  living,  but  living  together." 

Differences  and  similarities  between  the  government  of  your  school  and 
that  of  the  community  in  which  you  live.  The  wisdom  of  makin'g  them 
more  alike. 

Different  plans  of  "pupil  self-government."     (See  references.) 

Uses  to  which  the  schoolhouses  of  your  community  are,  or  might  be, 
put. 

Hours  per  week  and  weeks  per  year  during  which  your  schoolhouse  is 
used. 

Economy  (or  lack  of  it)  in  allowing  schoolhouses  to  stand  idle  most  of 
the  time. 

The  community  center  idea.     (See  references.) 

Educational  work  for  adults  in  your  community. 

Educational  agencies  in  your  community  besides  schools. 

The  schools  of  the  local  community  are  a  part  of  the  state 
school  system.     Education  is  considered  a  duty  of  the  state, 


EDUCATION  305 

though  it  is  performed  largely  by  local  agencies.  The  consti- 
tutions of  all  states  make  provision  for  it.  State  control  and 
support  of  education  are  necessary  if  there  is  to  g. 
be  equality  of  educational  opportunity  for  all  chil-  ization  for 
dren  of  the  state.  Every  state  has  a  department  of  ^'^^'^^^io^ 
education,  and  in  most  states  each  local  community  receives  a 
portion  of  a  general  state  tax  for  school  purposes.  The  state 
departments  of  education  differ  widely  from  one  another  both 
in  organization  and  in  the  effectiveness  of  their  work.  In  most 
states  there  is  a  state  board  of  education,  composed  sometimes 
of  certain  state  officials,  including  the  governor  and  the  state 
superintendent  of  education,  sometimes  of  citizens  appointed 
for  this  purpose  alone  by  the  governor  or  (in  four  states)  by  the 
legislature.  In  only  one  state  is  it  elected  by  popular  vote. 
In  all  states  there  is  also  a  chief  educational  officer,  usually  called 
state  superintendent  or  commissioner  of  education  or  of  public 
instruction.  In  several  states  women  hold  this  position.  The 
state  superintendent  is  sometimes  elected  by  popular  vote, 
sometimes  appointed  by  the  state  board  of  education  or  by  the 
governor.  Under  the  state  superintendent  there  are  deputy 
superintendents,  heads  of  departments,  and  supervisors  of  the 
various  branches  of  educational  work.  The  diagram  on  page 
293  shows  a  plan  of  organization  proposed  for  one  state  by  the 
United  States  Bureau  of  Education. 

The  extent  of  the  supervision  and  control  exercised  by  the 
state  department  of  education  over  the  schools  of  the  state  varies 
within  wide  limits.     In  some  cases  it  is  very  little.   Relation   f 
In  many  states  there  are  state  courses  of  study  that   state  to  local 
are  followed  more  or  less  closely  by  local  com-  o^'ga^'z^tion 
munities.     In  a  number  of  states  the  textbooks  used  by  all 
schools  are  selected  either  by  the  state  board  of  education  or 
by  a  special  state  textbook  commission.     In  New  York  State 
the  examination  questions  used  in  all  schools  are  prepared  by 
the  state  educational  authorities.     Some  states  furnish  text- 


?o6 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


books  free,  and  in  a  very  few  the  state  even  prints  all  textbooks. 
It  has  not  been  easy  to  work  out  a  well-balanced  plan  of  state 
administration  of  schools  that  would  insure  a  thoroughgoing 
education  for  the  entire  state,  and  that  would  at  the  same  time 
leave  suflScient  freedom  to  local  school  authorities  to  adjust 
the  work  to  local  needs. 

Many  of  the  states  support  higher  educational  institutions, 
such  as  state  universities  and  state  agricultural  colleges,  at 


Campus  of  the  State  Agricultural  College,  Madison,  Wisconsin 


which  attendance  is  free  for  citizens  of  the  state. 
There  are  also  special  state  schools  for  defectives, 
such  as  the  blind  and  the  deaf. 
The  national  government  gave  its  first  support  to  public 
education  by  the  Ordinance  of  1787  under  which  the  Northwest 
Territory  was  organized.     It  provided  that  "  reh- 
gion,    morality,   and   knowledge   being  necessary 
to  good  government  and  the  happiness  of  man- 
kind, schools  and  the  means  of  education  shall  be 
forever  encouraged."  As  new  states  were  organized, 
sections  of  the  public  lands  were  to  be  reserved  for  school  pur- 
poses (see  p.  205).     Grants  of  public  land  were  also  made  for 


Higher 

educational 

institutions 


Policy  of 
the  national 
government 
toward 
education 


EDUCATION  307 

the  establishment  of  agricultural  colleges  and  experiment 
stations  (p.  147).  We  have  also  noted  the  national  coopera- 
tion with  the  states  for  agricultural  extension  j.  United 
work  and  for  vocational  education  (pp.  147,  States  Bureau 
300).  The  United  States  Bureau  of  Education  is  °^  Education 
under  the  direction  of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of 
Education.  It  has  exerted  its  chief  influence  through  its 
investigations  of  educational  methods  and  its  numerous  reports 
and  other  publications.  It  serves  as  a  sort  of  educational 
''clearing  house"  for  local  and  state  school  authorities.  One  of 
its  chief  endeavors  has  been  to  increase  the  educational  oppor- 
tunities in  rural  communities. 

Report  on  the  following : 

Provisions  of  your  state  constitution  with  regard  to  education. 

Cost  of  public  schools  per  year  to  your  community ;  your  county ;  your 
state. 

How  this  cost  is  met  in  your  town  or  county.     Portion  paid  by  the  state. 

Organization  of  your  state  department  of  education.  Compare  with 
the  organization  of  state  departments  in  neighboring  states. 

Arguments  for  and  against  the  method  of  choosing  your  state  board  of 
education  and  your  state  superintendent. 

Do  the  rural  schools  and  city  schools  of  your  state  operate  under  the 
same  state  supervision?     Why? 

Use  of  state  course  of  study  in  your  school  and  community. 

Selection  of  textbooks  for  your  school. 

Advantages  and  disadvantages  of  uniform  textbooks  and  course  of 
study.     Of  uniform  examinations  throughout  the  state. 

Management  and  support  of  your  state  university. 

Qualifications  for  admission  to  the  state  university  and  state  agricultural 
college. 

Why  you  are  (or  not)  going  to  college. 

The  value  of  the  state  university  or  agricultural  college  to  your  state. 

State  educational  institutions  for  the  blind,  the  deaf,  etc. 

Arguments  for  and  against  national  control  of  education. 

Chief  provisions  of  any  bill  now  before  Congress  for  a  national  Depart- 
ment of  Education. 


3o8  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

READINGS 

In  Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 

Series  A:  Lesson  ii,  Education  as  encouraged  by  industry. 
Series  C  :  Lesson    8,  Preventing  waste  of  human  beings. 
In  Long's  American  Patriotic  Prose: 

Educated  men  in  politics  (Grover  Cleveland),  pp.  255-257. 
The  educated  man  and  democratic  ideals  (Charles  E.  Hughes),  pp.  286-288. 
In  Foerster  and  Pierson's  American  Ideals: 

The  American  scholar  (R.  W.  Emerson),  pp.  i33-iSS- 
Democracy  in  education  (P.  P.  Claxton),  156-157. 
Reports  of  local  and  state  departments  of  education. 
Publications  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Education. 

Latest  annual  report  of  the  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education.  These  annual 
reports  contain  excellent  summaries  of  every  phase  of  education  in  the  United 
States  and  in  many  foreign  countries. 
Bulletins.  Send  to  the  Bureau  for  List  of  Available  Publications.  These  bulle- 
tins relate  to  every  important  aspect  of  education,  school  organization  and 
administration,  etc.  Many  of  them  are  of  special  application  to  rural  edu- 
cation. 
Teachers  of  civics  will  find  the  following  helpful : 

1915,  No.  17,  Civic  education  in  elementary  schools  as  illustrated  in  Indian- 
apoHs  (Government  Printing  Office,  Sji). 

1915,  No.  23,  The  teaching  of  community  civics  (Government  Printing   Office, 

lOjii). 

191 6,  No.  28,  The  social  studies  in  secondary  education  (Government  Printing 

Office,  10^). 

1917,  No.  46,  The  public  school  system  of  San  Francisco,  chapter  on  civic  edu- 

cation. 

1917,  No.  51,  Moral  values  in  secondary  education. 

1918,  No.  15,  Educational  survey  of  Elyria,  Ohio,   chapter  on  civic  education 

(Government  Printing  Office,  30^)- 

1919,  No.  50,  Part  3,  Civic  education  in  the  public  school  system  of  Memphis. 

Write  to  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education  for  list  of  references  on  pupil  self-govern- 
ment. Also,  write  to  the  School  Citizens'  Committee,  2  Wall  St.,  New  York 
City,  for  material  on  the  same  subject. 

Earle,  AUce  Morse,  Child  Life  in  Colonial  Days  (Macmillan). 

Dewey,  John,  The  School  and  Society  and  Schools  of  To-morrow. 

Quick,  Herbert,  The  Brown  Mouse  (Bobbs-Merrill  Co.,  Indianapolis). 

Foght,  H.  W.,  The  Rural  Teacher  and  His  Work. 

Jackson,  Henry  E.,  A  Community  Center  —  What  it  is  and  how  to  organize  it.     Bul- 

*       letin,  1918,  No,  11,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education. 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE   COMMUNITY'S   HEALTH 

There  is  nothing  else  that  concerns  the  community  or  the 

nation  so  much  as  the  health  of  its  citizens.     Of  more  than  three 

million  men  between  the  ages  of  2 1  and  t.  i  examined 

Physical 
for  military  service  in  1918  only  about  65  per  cent  defects  and 

were  passed  as  physically  fit   to  fight  for  their  ^^^  national 

country.^     The  remaining  35  per  cent  were  either 

totally  unfit  for  any  kind  of  service,  or  were  capable  only  of  the 

less  strenuous  activities  connected  with  warfare.     Most  of  the 

defects  found  could  have  been  remedied,  or  prevented  altogether, 

if  proper  care  had  been  taken  in  earlier  years. 

The  nation  loses  by  this  physical  unfitness  in  other  ways  than 

in    fighting    power.     Investigations    have    shown    that    wage 

earners  lose  from  their  work  an  average  of  from  six 

to  nine  days  each  year  on  account  of  sickness.^  defects  and 

The  cost  to  the  individual  in  loss  of  wages,  doctors'  *^®  nation's 
,  -n  ,        ,  .         .  .  industry 

bills,  and  otherwise,  is  a  serious  matter,  to  say 

nothing  of  the  absolute  want  to  which  it  reduces  many  families 
and  the  suffering  entailed.  In  addition  to  this,  the  country 
loses  the  wage  earner's  production.  Sometimes  death  brings 
to  the  family  permanent  loss  of  income,  and  to  the  nation  com- 
plete loss  of  the  product  of  the  wage  earner's  work.  The  nation 
spends  large  sums  of  money  every  year  in  providing  for 
dependent  families  and  individuals. 

1  Public  Health  Reports,  U.  S.  Public  Health  Service,  vol.  34,  No.  13,  p.  633 
(March  28,  igig). 

^  Pubhc  Health  Reports,  U.  S.  Public  Health  Service,  vol.  34,  No.  16,  pp.  777-782 
(April  18,  1919). 

309 


3IO 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


If  each  of  the  38  million  wage  earners  in  the  United  States  in  1910  lost 
6  days  from  work  in  a  year,  how  many  days'  work  would  the  nation  lose  ? 
How  many  years  of  work  would  this  amount  to  ? 

At  $2.50  a  day  (is  this  a  high  wage?)  how  much  would  be  lost  in  wages 
in  a  year? 

Get  information  regarding  the  cost  of  a  long  case  of  sickness,  such  as 
typhoid  fever,  in  some  family  of  your  acquaintance  (perhaps  your  own), 
including  doctor's  bills,  medicines,  time  lost  from  work,  etc. 

What  would  such  expense  mean  to  a  family  living  on  as  low  wages  as 
those  mentioned  on  page  167? 


'Setting  Up"  Exercises  in  the  Army 


Moreover,  the  nation  loses  a  great  deal  (how  mtich  cannot 
be  calculated)  from  the  physical  unfitness  of  many  who  keep 
„ .       .  on  working,  but  who  are  not  fully  efficient  because 

and  physical  of  bodily  defects  or  ailments.  We  see  the  results 
defects  ^^  ^j^j^  ^^^^  -^^  school.     Pupils  who  lag  behind  their 

mates  in  their  studies  are  often  suffering  from  physical  defects 
of  which  their  teachers,  and  even  they  themselves,  may  be  un- 
aware. It  may  be  that  they  are  ill-nourished,  or  that  they  have 
defective  vision,  or  hearing,  or  teeth,  or  that  they  sleep  in 


THE  COMMUNITY'S  HEALTH 


3" 


poorly  ventilated  rooms.     The   community  does  not  get  its 

money's  worth  from  its  schools  if  its  children  are  not  in  physical 

condition  to  profit  by  them.     In  a  similar  manner  earning  and 

productive  power  are  reduced. 

It  has  usually  been  assumed  that  the  people  in  rural  districts 

are  more  healthy  than  those  who  live  in  cities ;  but  it  has  been 

found  that  there  is  as  much  physical  unfitness 

.  Physical  un- 

there  as  elsewhere.     It  is  true  that  the  records   fitness  in 

of  the  war  department  seem  to  show  fewer  men   "^^^  *^°™" 

IT-  11  r     I-  munities 

rejected  in  rural  districts  as  totally  unnt  tor  any 

kind  of  military  service ;   but  evidence  of  other  kinds  has  been 

collected  that  indicates  that  some  kinds  of  disease,  at  least, 

and  many  physical  defects  are  more  prevalent  in  the  country 

than  in  the  city.     In  The  Lure  of  the  Land,  Dr.  Harvey  Wiley 

makes  a  comparison  of  the  death  rate  from  certain  diseases 

in  a  few  states  where  the  figures  are  available  for  both  city  and 

country.     Some  of  his  figures  are  given  in  the  following  table. 

Death  Rates  per  100,000  Population  in  Cities  and  Rxjiial  Districts  ^ 


Disease 

State 

Rdral 

City 

Typhoid 

Colorado 

37-0 

19.1 

Typhoid 

Maryland 

43-7 

30.0 

Typhoid 

Kentucky 

49.0 

34-0 

Influenza 

Minnesota 

10.4 

4-3 

Influenza 

Michigan 

24.8 

7-7 

Influenza 

Connecticut 

31-4 

19.8 

Influenza 

Indiana 

21.2 

12.0 

Influenza 

Maine 

28.7 

13-6 

Mental 

California 

5-1 

i-S 

Mental 

Colorado 

4.0 

2.3 

Studies  have  been  made  of  the  comparative  health  of  city 
and  rural  school  children,  which  show  results  in  favor  of  the 

I  Dr.  Harvey  Wiley,  The  Lure  of  the  Land,  Chapter  VIII,  "  Health  on  the  Farm," 
pp.  53-60. 


312 

Per  c^nt    5 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


^^^gj^%gg%$^?%%%%?%^%%^%^^%%^%%%%^^  I  Tee  rh  D 


efect? 


Tonsils 


KE~t 

Country 

City 


Health  Defects 

City  children  and  country  children  compared,  percentage  average  of  all 

available  statistics. 

former.     Of   330,179   children    examined   in    New  York  City 

70  per  cent  were  found  defective,  while  of  294,427  examined  in 

1 83 1  rural  districts  of  Pennsylvania  75  per  cent 

city  school        were   defective.     The  preceding  chart  shows  the 

children  comparative  prevalence  of  health  defects  among 

compared  . 

City  and  country  children. 

Investigate  the  following : 

Meaning  of  "vital  statistics."     Importance  of  vital  statistics  to  your 


THE   COMMUNITY'S  HEALTH 


313 


community.  Where  recorded  for  your  county  or  town.  What  the  vital 
statistics  of  your  community  for  the  last  year  show. 

Causes  of  deaths  in  your  community  for  the  last  year.  The  percentage 
of  these  deaths  that  were  "preventable."  Increase  or  decrease  of  death 
rate  in  your  community  during  recent  years ;  in  your  state. 

The  nature  of  the  prevailing  sicknesses  in  your  conxmunity  during  the 
last  year.  Per  cent  of  these  that  were  contagious.  List  of  contagious 
diseases  in  the  order  of  their  prevalence. 


m         lani          iqn?          iqo.l         IW*         1905         190b          1907          I90a           19C 

)9         191 

0     19 

r         1912          191 

3        WIf 

s.za6 

20.1 

\^ 

\ 
\ 

1 

1 
1 

1 

\ 
\ 
\ 

\ 

18,5 

^7" 
/ 

/ 

\ 
\ 

iL?-— 

i_a.3 

,I8Z 

N 

'J79 

\ 
\ 

\ 

Jt.i 

;5_5 

) 

15 

> 

7 

L'l             15 

'.^J.7 

^^^ 

\ 

11.1 

15 

1     ^-~ 

6 

0 

X 
■V 

1*3 

«»• 

a 

1 

% 

KEY;  Country      City    

Death  Rate  in  New  York  City  (broken  line)  Compared  with  Death  Rate  in 
Rural  New  York  (solid  line),  Showing  Striking  Decrease  of  Former  and  Increase 
of  Latter  During  Recent  Years.  It  will  be  seen  that  city's  death  rate,  far 
above  the  rural  rate  a  few  years  ago,  is  now  below  it. 


Quarantine  regulations  in  your  community  against  contagious  diseases. 
Extent  to  which  they  are  observed.  WTio  is  responsible  for  their  observance  ? 
For  their  enforcement? 

Observe  condition  of  sidewalks  and  other  public  places  with  respect  to 
expectoration.  Is  there  a  law  on  the  subject  in  your  community?  Is  it 
observed  or  enforced?     Who  is  responsible?     Dangers  from  expectoration. 

Medical  inspection  in  the  schools  of  your  county,  town,  and  state.  If 
any,  its  results.  Kinds  of  defects  most  commonly  found.  How  is  it  con- 
ducted?   Who  sends  the  inspectors?    To  what  extent  the  homes  of  the 


314 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


community  cooperate  with  the  schools  in  getting  results  from  medical 
inspection. 

We  may  well  ask  why  ill  health  and  physical  defects  seem  to 
be  more  prevalent  in  rural  communities  than  in  cities.  The 
answer  probably  is,  simply,  that  in  cities  they  are 
prevented  more  effectively.  The  chart  on  page  313 
shows  that  while  the  death  rate  in  New  York 
City  was  20.6  per  thousand  in  1900,  it  had  declined 
to  14  per  thousand  in  1914 ;  while  that  in  the  rural 
districts  of  New  York  State  remained  practically  the  same  dur- 
ing  these  years   (15.5   per  thousand   in    1900,   15.3   in   1914). 


Better 

conditions  in 
cities  due  to 
organized 
team  work 


Sketch  Showing  Sources  of  Water 
'p^"''  Pollution  on  a  Farm 

This  indicates  that  health  conditions  in  the  city  were  originally 
much  worse  than  in  the  country.  They  were  rapidly  improved 
by  organization  for  health  protection.  There  is  not  the  occasion, 
in  rural  communities,  for  the  elaborate  health-protecting  organi- 
zation that  is  now  found  in  all  large  cities,  because  the  people  in 
rural  communities  are  not  so  completely  dependent  upon  one  an- 
other nor  at  the  mercy  of  conditions  over  which,  as  individuals, 
they  have  no  control.  And  yet  even  in  rural  communities 
physical  well-being  depends  largely  upon  organized  team  work. 

Cities  have  used  their  school  organization  to  combat  physical 
defects  and  weaknesses  of  pupils,  and  that  is  why  they  make  a 
better  showing  than  rural  communities  in  such  matters  as 
those  shown  in  the  table  on  page  312.     Removing  such  defects 


THE   COMMUNITY'S   HEALTH 


315 


from  young  people  means  a  stronger  and  more  efficient  adult 

population  ten  or  twenty  years  from  now ;   for  these  defects  are 

often  the  causes  of  more  serious  illness  in  later 

Schools  as 
years.     The  table  on  page  299,  Chapter  XIX,  shows  an  agency 

how  much  behind  cities  rural  communities  have   for  health 

conservahon 
been  in  the^ise  of  their  school  organization  for  this 

purpose.  The  encouraging  thing  is,  however,  that  rural  com- 
munities are  beginning  to  find  the  means  to  use  their  schools  m 
this  way.     The  way  has  been  opened  by  school  consolidation 


Free  Medical  Inspection  in  City  School 

(p.  295),  by  the  grouping  of  all  the  small  and  isolated  schools 

of  a  county  under  a  central  county  administration  (p.  294),  by 

aid  from  the  state,  both  in  money  and  m  supervision,  and  by 

cooperation  from  the  national  government. 

Cities  have  extended  their  health-educational  work  to  the 

adult  population.     This  takes  place  in  part  through  the  schools 

also.     Instruction  given  to  children  is  of  course 

^  Health  edu- 

taken  home  by  them.     Visiting  nurses  employed   cation  for 

bv    the    schools    visit    the    homes.     Classes    for  adults  m 

cities 
mothers  are  conducted  at  the  school  in  the  after- 
noon or  evening.     But  more  thaij  this,  city  boards  of  health, 


3l6  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

I 

often  in  cooperation  with  the  school  authorities,  conduct  edu- 
cational campaigns  by  means  of  literature  distributed  to  the 
homes  through  school  children,  by  means  of  evening  lectures 
and  moving  pictures,  and  through  the  newspapers. 

Means  are  not  wanting  for  similar  work  in  rural  communities. 
The  homes  may  be  reached  by  the  right  kind  of  instruction  in 

the  schools.     The  classes  or  clubs  for  women  con- 
A-GfCQcics  for 
health  educa-    ducted  by  women  county  agents  may  be,  and  often 

tion  in  rural  g^j-g  used  as  means  of  health  instruction.  Public 
communities  .  t      ,,  ■  ,,  ,  i       i 

meetings  at  the  community  center  at  the  school- 
house  may  be  devoted  at  times  to  public  health  problems,  with 
lectures,  moving  pictures,  and  discussions.  The  local  newspapers 
always  afford  a  channel  through  which  to  get  matters  of  this  kind 
before  the  people.  Local  and  state  boards  of  health,  the  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture,  and  the  Public  Health  Service 
may  and  do  use  these  and  other  agencies  to  reach  the  people. 

No  matter  how  much  machinery  for  cooperation  we  may 
Responsibility  have  in  our  community,  like  that  described  above, 
of  the  home  \^  cannot  help  much  unless  every  family  and  every 
citizen  cooperates  intelligently. 

In  a  large  city  a  small  group  of  men,  constituting  the  city  council,  may 
inaugurate  measures  which  will  accomplish  sanitary  improvements  at 
thousands  of  homes ;  but  for  the  accomplishment  of  sanitary  improvements 
at  I  GOO  farm  homes  at  least  looo  persons  .  .  .  must  be  convinced  that 
the  sanitary  measures  are  needed,  become  informed  how  to  apply  them, 
and  be  willing  to  put  them  into  operation.^ 

Pure  air  is  essential  to  good  health.  It  is  not  always  easy  to 
get  in  the  crowded  living  and  working  conditions  of  cities. 
The  impor-  There  it  is  necessary  to  regulate  these  conditions 
tance  of  by  law,  and  factories  and  tenements  are  inspected 

pure  air  ^^  ^^^  ^^^  ^j^^^  ^^^  properly  ventilated  and  not 

overcrowded.     In  rural  communities  there  is  less  excuse  for  bad 

1  Rural  Sanitation,  by  L.  L.  Lumsden,  Public  Health  Bulletin  No.  g4,  United 
States  Public  Health  Service,  p.  lo. 


THE   COMMUNITY'S  HEALTH  317 

air,  and  the  responsibility  for  it  rests  more  directly  upon  the 
individual,  as  illustrated  on  page  112,  Chapter  X. 

It  might  seem  that  it  is  nobody's  business  but  our  own  how 
we  live  in  our  homes  or  at  our  work.     But  bad  air  lessens 
vitality  and  nurtures  disease.     This  reduces  pro-   g^^  ^^  ^^^ 
ductive  power.     Moreover,   colds,  influenza,  and  the  spread 
tuberculosis  (of  which  more  than  a  million  people 
are  constantly  sick  in   the  United  States),  all  of  which  are 
nourished  in  bad  air,  may  be  spread  by  contact,  or  by  food 
handled  by  those  who  are  sick.     People  who  live  in  bad  air 
at  home   mingle  with   others  at    church,   in   moving  picture 
theaters,  at  school,  in  the  court  room,  and  in  other  public  meet- 
ing places,  which  are  themselves  often  poorly  ventilated.     It  is 
strange  that  court  rooms,  where  justice  is  administered,  schools 
where  children  are  prepared  for  life,  and  churches  where  people 
worship,  are  so  often  badly  ventilated. 

Report  on  the  following : 

Is  your  schoolroom  well  ventilated ?  How  do  you  know?  What  effect 
does  poor  ventilation  have  upon  your  feelings  and  your  work  ? 

If  the  law  requires  school  attendance,  why  should  it  also  require  good 
ventilation  of  the  school? 

If  the  ventilation  of  your  school  is  not  good,  what  may  you  do  about 
it?     Who  is  responsible  for  it? 

Observe  and  report  upon  the  ventilation  of  the  court  rooms,  moving 
picture  theaters,  churches,  and  other  meeting  places  in  your  community. 

Cities  go  to  great  expense  to  get  an  abundant  pure-water 
supply.  It  is  of  the  greatest  importance  in  community  sanita- 
tion. Impure  water  is  one  of  the  chief  sources  of  pure  water 
typhoid  fever  and  other  diseases  of  the  intestines.  *^^  health 
About  400,000  persons  have  typhoid  fever  every  year  in  the 
United  States,  and  30,000  are  killed  by  it ;  and  it  is  unnecessary. 
We  have  from  three  to  five  times  as  much  typhoid  as  many 
European  coimtries  have,  and  for  no  other  reason  than  that  we 
are  negligent. 


3i8 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


Pure,  clean,  wholesome  food  is  equally  essential.  We  need 
not  dwell  upon  the  importance  of  the  right  kinds  of  food  and 
Pure  food  well-cooked  food.  Much  illness  is  caused  by 
and  health  "spoiled"  foods.  Disease  germs  may  be  carried 
by  food  as  well  as  by  water.  Tuberculosis  may  be  carried  by 
milk,  either  from  diseased  cattle,  or  from  victims  of  the  disease 
who  handle  the  milk  at  some  point  in  its  progress  from  the 
dairy  farm  to  the  home.    The  death  rate  among  babies  is 


Good  and  Bad  Types  of  Dairy  Stable 

appalling,  especially  in  cities,  because  of  the  use  of  milk  con- 
taining germs  of  intestinal  diseases.  Typhoid  fever  may  be 
contracted  from  milk,  green  vegetables,  and  oysters  from  beds 
contaminated  with  sewage. 

The  food  supply  of  cities  passes  through  many  hands  before 
it  reaches  the  consumer.  At  almost  every  point  it  is  protected 
by  regulations  and  inspection.  Most  of  it,  however,  comes 
originally  from  the  farm  which  is  beyond  the  control  of  the 
city  authorities.     The  producers  and  handlers  of  food  products 


THE   COMMUNITY'S  HEALTH  3 19 

in  rural  districts  therefore  owe  it  not  only  to  themselves  but  also 
to  their  city  neighbors  to  exercise  every  possible  precaution 
against  the  spread  of  disease.  Such  precautions  consist  in 
cleanliness  in  handling  and  storing  milk,  butter,  and  meats; 
in  the  cleansing  of  milk  receptacles  with  pure  water;  in  the 
proper  location  and  construction  of  wells ;  in  protecting  springs 
from  surface  drainage;  in  sanitary  disposal  of  sewage  and 
other  wastes  from  the  household ;  in  protection  of  food  against 
flies. 

In  cities  a  great  deal  of  attention  is  given  to  sanitation. 
Sewage  is  carried  off  by  public  sewers.  Householders  are 
required  to  place  garbage  in  sanitary  cans,  whence  Sanitation 
it  is  collected  and  disposed  of  in  such  a  way  as  not  '"  ^^'^'^^ 
to  pollute  the  soil.  Ashes  and  refuse  are  carried  away  from 
homes  and  shops,  and  the  streets  are  cleaned  daily.  In  rural 
communities  such  matters  are  left  almost  entirely  to  the 
householder. 

Exposed  garbage,  improperly  built  outdoor  toilets,  and  stable 
manure  are  breeding  places  of  flies;    and  flies  are  notorious 
carriers  of  disease.     Yet,  out  of   more  than  3000   ^^^^sls 
homes  in  one  county  in  Indiana  only  31  made  pro-   disease 
vision   to   prevent   stable   manure  from   breeding 
flies,  and  the  same  was  true  of  only  i  out  of  more  than  2000 
homes  in  a  county  in  North  Carolina,  and  only  86  out  of  nearly 
5000  homes  in  an  Alabama  county. 

Malaria  is  widespread  in  the  United  States  and  imposes  a 
heavy  toll  upon  the  nation's  health.     It  is  carried  from  one 
victim  to  another  by  a  certain  kind  of  mosquito,   p^nger 
of  which  it  is  comparatively  easy  to  get  rid  by   from 
proper  drainage  of  breeding  places,  by  treating  the  ^°^^^^  °^^ 
surface  of  pools  with  kerosene,  by  screening,  and  by  seeing  to 
it  that  rain  barrels  are  covered  and  that  tin  cans  and  other 
receptacles  of  water  are  not  left  lying  around.     But  flies  and 
mosquitoes  do  not  stop  with  fences,  nor  do  they  recognize  city 


320  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

or  county  boundaries.     Hence,  individual  effort  without  com- 
munity cooperation  is  likely  to  be  useless. 

The  terrible  hookworm  disease  so  prevalent  in  our  southern 
states  is  caused  by  a  minute  worm  that  infests  soil  polluted 
P  11  t  d  il  ^^^^  sewage.  It  penetrates  the  soles  of  the  feet  of 
and  hook-  those  who  go  barefoot  and  the  palms  of  the  hands 
worm  disease  ^^  ^-^^^^  ^^lo  work  in  the  soil,  finds  its  way  through 
the  blood  to  the  intestines,  and  thence  to  the  soil  again.  An 
investigation  in  770  counties  in  11  states  where  hookworm 
disease  is  prevalent  showed  that  out  of  287,606  farm  homes 
only  six  tenths  of  one  per  cent  disposed  of  their  sewage  in  such 
a  way  as  to  prevent  soil  pollution. 

Out  of  305  homes  in  a  little  community  in  Mississippi,  only  4  properly 
disposed  of  sewage.  When  the  first  investigations  were  made,  there  were 
407  cases  of  hookworm  disease  out  of  1002  residents.  Besides,  there  had 
been  recently  12  cases  of  tuberculosis,  47  of  typhoid  fever,  184  of  malaria, 
and  384  of  dysentery. 

Safe  methods  of  disposing  of  sewage  were  introduced,  houses  were  screened, 
an  artesian  well  was  bored  for  a  public  water  supply,  and  the  community 
cleaned  up  generally.  After  these  improvements  the  various  diseases 
almost  entirely  disappeared.  Similar  results  were  obtained  in  99  other  com- 
munities in  the  southern  states. ^ 

Topics  for  investigation : 

The  water  supply  of  farms  in  your  locality.     Any  recent  improvements. 

The  public  water  supply  (if  any)  of  your  community.  Its  sources. 
Method  of  purification.  Quality  of  water.  How  the  people  know  it  is 
pure  or  impure.  Public  or  private  ownership  of  the  supply.  Cost  to  the 
householder. 

Extent  to  which  the  families  represented  in  your  class  depend  upon 
private  wells.  How  many  have  had  their  well  water  examined  to  test  its 
purity.  How  to  proceed  to  have  water  tested.  Who  tests  it?  Who  pays 
for  the  test?     (If  possible,  visit  the  laboratory  where  the  tests  are  made.) 

Number  of  cases  of  typhoid  fever  in  your  community,  now  or  during  last 
year.     How  the  information  can  be  obtained.     Is  the  information  likely 

1  Report  of  the  Rockefeller  Foundation,  igi7,  pp.  136-138. 


THE   COMMUNITY'S  HEALTH 


321 


to  be  accurate  ?  Whose  business  is  it  to  keep  a  record  ?  Why  should  a  rec- 
ord be  kept  ?     Why  should  it  be  made  public  ? 

Causes  of  typhoid  in  your  community.  Are  they  preventable?  How? 
Observance  of  quarantine  against  tj^jhoid. 

How  may  wells  become  polluted?  Give  cases  of  which  you  may  know. 
Study  diagram  on  page  314. 

Methods  of  sewage  disposal  in  your  community.  Laws  on  the  subject. 
Can  you  suggest  improvements? 


THE  OLD  B/]R/V. 


THE 


THE 
OLD 


A  Resxixt  of  Milk  Inspection 

Regulation  of  mUk  production  and  handling  in  your  community:  on 
the  farms  where  it  is  produced;  in  the  hands  of  dealers  and  distributors; 
in  the  home.     Who  make  these  regulations? 

Outline  on  a  map  the  area  from  which  your  community  is  supplied  with 
milk.  Show  on  a  map  cities  that  are  supplied  by  your  county  with  dairy 
products,  garden  vegetables,  meats,  etc. 

Clean-up  campaigns  in  your  community. 

Progress  and  methods  of  fly  and  mosquito  extermination  in  your  com- 
munity. 

The  work  of  the  Rockefeller  Foundation  for  the  extermination  of  hook- 
worm disease  (see  references). 

Hospitals  that  serve  your  community.  Where  located.  By  whom  sup- 
ported (private,  city  or  town,  county,  state). 


322 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


Health  protection,  like  education,  has  been  considered  pri- 
marily the  duty  of  the  state.  But  many  conditions  affecting 
health  have  arisen  that  the  state  cannot  com- 
pletely control.  Chiefly  under  the  power  given 
to  it  by  the  Constitution  to  regulate  foreign  and 
interstate  commerce  (p.  451),  Congress  has 
passed  many  laws  that  protect  health,  placing  their  enforce- 
ment in  the  hands  of  the  several  departments  of  the  national 
government. 


National 
control  of 
health 
conservation 


The  School  Lunch 


The  Department  of  Agriculture  conducts  much  public  health 

work,  through  its  home  demonstration  agents,  its  Office  of  Rural 

Engineering  which  deals  with  problems  of  farm 
Health  work  *  °  ,  ,  .        .  .         ^ 

of  the  water   supply   and    rural    sanitation,    its    Bureau 

Department      Qf  Entomology  which  wages  war  against  flies  and 
of  Agriculture        ,  t  .  .  1     •         t-i 

other    disease-carrying    insects,    and    its    Bureau 

of  Animal   Industry  which  inspects   cattle,  meats,  and  dairy 

products.     The   Department   of   Agriculture   also   administers 

the  Food  and  Drugs  Act,  the  purpose  of  which  is  to  secure  purity 

of  food  products  and  to  recjuire  that  they  and  medicinal  drugs 

shall  be  labeled  in  such  a  way  as  to  show  what  they  contain. 


THE   COMMUNITY'S  HEALTH  323 

Fraudulent  and  harmful  "cures"  and  "patent  medicines"  may 
thus  be  exposed. 

The  United  States  Public  Health  Service  investigates  diseases 
and  health  conditions  and  the  means  of  controlling  them.     It 
has  given  considerable  attention  to  rural  sanitation,   ^j^^  p^^^^^ 
It  issues  reports  and  other  publications  of  great  Health 
value  to  the  citizen,  some  of  them  being  listed  at     ®'""'^® 
the  end  of  this  chapter.     It  has  representatives  in  all  important 
foreign  ports,  inspects  all  ships  that  enter  American  harbors, 
and  holds  them  in  quarantine  until  they  and  their  passengers 
are  given  a  clean  bill  of  health.     Cholera  and  other  dangerous 
diseases  have  thus  been  prevented  from  gaining  a  foothold  on 
American  soil. 

The  War  Department  has  also  waged  a  relentless  warfare 
against  disease,  not  only  in  the  army  itself,  but  also  in  the 
Panama  Canal  Zone,  Cuba,  Porto  Rico,  the  Philip-   ^g^j^jj  ^^^^ 
pines,  and  other  regions  occupied  by  the  army,   of  other 
The  Department  of  Labor  seeks  to  improve  the   departments 
physical  conditions  of  labor  for  both  men  and  women,  and  its 
Children's  Bureau  is  charged  with  a  study  of  all  matters  pertain- 
ing to  the  welfare  of  children.     In  the  Department  of  the  In- 
terior the  Census  Bureau  collects  national  vital  statistics;  the 
Bureau  of  Mines  has  done  valuable  work  for  the  prevention  of 
accidents  in  mines  and  mining  industries ;   and  the  Bureau  of 
Education  seeks  to  promote  physical  education,  instruction  in 
home  economics,  and  education  in  the  home  relating  to  the 
care  of  children. 

A  very  large  part  of  the  duty  of  health  protection  must, 

however,  remain  with   the   states.      Every   state 

has  its  department  of  health,  headed  by  a  state  responsibUity 

board    of    health,  or   a    commissioner   of   health,   ^°^  health 

Tr-r  1       •       protection 

or   both.      These  departments   differ   greatly   m 

their  organization  and  in  the  extent  and  effectiveness  of  their 

work. 


324  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

One  of  the  best  organized  state  departments  of  health  is 
that  of  New  York.  Among  its  most  important  features  are 
N  Y  rk  (i)  ^  public  health  council  which  has  power  to  es- 
state  tablish  a  state- wide  sanitary  code;  (2)  the  concen- 

orgamzation  j-j-^tion  of  all  administrative  power  in  the  hands  of  a 
single  state  commissioner  of  health,  who  has  a  staff  of  experts 
to  direct  special  lines  of  health  work ;  and  (3)  a  well-organized 
scheme  of  cooperation  between  the  state  department  and  local 
health  authorities. 

The  absence  or  weakness  of  local  organization  for  health 
protection  has  been  one  of  the  obstacles  to  progress  in  physical 
well-being  in  the  United  States.  Driven  by  an 
ization  for  appalling  death  rate  and  frequent  epidemics,  our 
health  large   cities   have   developed   health   departments 

which  in  many  cases  have  proved  very  effective. 
But  in  smaller  communities,  while  health  departments  or  health 
ofl&cers  usually  exist,  the  organization  has  for  the  most  part 
been  very  ineffective.  The  people  themselves  have  not  been 
sufficiently  aroused  to  their  needs  and  to  methods  of  meeting 
them.  New  York  and  Massachusetts  are  among  the  most 
progressive  states  in  this  matter.  Each  local  community  in 
these  states  (town,  village,  or  small  city)  has  its  board  of  health 
and  health  officer;  but  these  communities  are  grouped  into 
health  districts  (8  in  Massachusetts,  20  in  New  York),  each 
district  being  in  charge  of  a  health  officer  appointed  by  the 
state  commissioner  or  board  of  health.  In  New  York  the  dis- 
trict health  officer,  who  is  there  called  the  sanitary  supervisor, 
has  the  following  duties : 

To  keep  informed  regarding  tlie  work  of  each  local  liealth  officer  within 
his  sanitary  district. 

To  aid  the  local  health  officers  in  making  health  surveys  of  the  com- 
munity under  their  control. 

To  aid  each  local  health  officer  in  the  performance  of  his  duties,  par- 
ticularly on  the  appearance  of  contagious  diseases. 

To  hold  conferences  of  local  health  officers. 


THE   COMMUNITY'S   HEALTH 


325 


To  study  the  causes  of  excessive  death  rates. 

To  promote  efficient  registration  of  births  and  deaths. 

To  inspect  all  labor  camps  and  to  enforce  in  them  all  public  health 
regulations. 

To  inspect  Indian  reservations  and  to  enforce  all  provisions  of  the  sanitary 
code  in  them. 

To  secure  the  cooperation  of  medical  organizations  for  the  improvement 
of  the  public  health. 

To  promote  the  information  of  the  public  in  matters  pertaining  to  the 
public  health. 


Courtesy  Tennessee  Coal,  Iron  and  Railroad  Co. 
The  Toothbrush  Brigade,  Fairfield,  Ala. 

Another  type  of  local  health  organization  and  of  cooperation 
between  local  and  state  authorities  for  health  protection  and 
promotion  has  been  developed  in  North  Carolina,  Example  of 
where  85  per  cent  of  the  population  is  rural.  Here 
the  county  has  been  taken  as  the  unit  of  local  or- 
ganization. Health  conditions  had  been  very  bad  in  this  state, 
hookworm  disease,  tuberculosis,  malaria,  and  other  diseases 
being  prevalent.  The  state  board  of  health,  assisted  by  the 
Rockefeller  Sanitary  Commission   (see  above,  page  320,  and 


North 
Carolina 


326  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

references  below),  began  an  investigation  and  an  educational 
campaign  among  the  people,  with  the  result  that  many  of  the 
counties  of  the  state  now  have  an  organization  for  health 
cooperation  unsurpassed,  perhaps,  in  any  other  state.  Each 
county  has  a  health  department,  which  is  controlled  jointly  by 
the  state  board  of  health  and  a  county  board  of  health.  The 
county  board  of  health  consists  of  the  mayor  of  the  county  seat, 
the  chairman  of  the  board  of  county  commissioners,  the  county 
supermtendent  of  schools,  and  two  physicians  of  the  county 
elected  by  the  other  three  members.  The  work  of  the  health 
department  is  directed  by  a  county  health  ofl&cer,  who  is  ap- 
pointed by  the  state  board  of  health  of  which  he  is  also  a  member. 
He  has  a  staff  of  trained  assistants. 

In  this  plan  note  the  cooperation  between  state  and  local  communities, 
between  town  and  county  oflicials,  and  between  the  school  authorities 
and  the  health  organization.  Note,  also,  the  leadership  of  specialists  in 
health  matters. 

Topics  for  investigation : 

Organization  of  the  department  of  health  in  your  community  (both 
county  and  town)  :  the  board  of  health ;  the  executive  health  officer  or 
officers ;   the  kinds  of  work  done. 

Amount  of  money  spent  by  your  local  health  department  for  all  purposes 
and  for  each  purpose  separately.  Compare  with  the  amounts  spent  for 
roads,  for  schools,  and  for  other  work  of  the  local  government. 

The  interest  shown  by  the  people  in  your  community  in  public  health 
matters. 

Some  of  the  more  important  health  problems  of  your  community. 

The  leadership  in  your  community  in  health  matters. 

Cooperation  between  the  state  government  and  your  local  government 
in  health  matters. 

The  more  unportant  local  and  state  laws  relating  to  health  in  your 
community. 

Organization  of  your  state  department  of  health. 

Tocal  health  problems  that  need  state  control. 

State  health  problems  that  need  local  cooperation. 

The  operation  of  the  Food  and  Drugs  Act  in  your  community. 


THE   COMMUNITY'S  HEALTH  327 

The  work  of  the  Public  Health  Service. 

The  extermination  of  yellow  fever  in  the  United  States. 

The  fight  against  the  bubonic  plague  in  California. 

The  work  of  the  War  Department  to  maintain  the  health  of  the  soldiers 
during  the  recent  war.     Volunteer  agencies  that  cooperated  in  this  work. 

Work  done  in  your  community  for  the  promotion  of  health  by  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  and  the  United  States  Public  Health  Service. 

The  work  of  the  Children's  Bureau  of  the  Department  of  Labor. 

The  inspection  of  immigrants. 


READINGS 

Reports  of  local  and  state  boards  of  health. 

Publications  of  state  agricultural  college  relating  to  public  health. 
Publications  of  the  United  States  Public  Health  Service,  Washington.     The  follow- 
ing are  illustrative : 
Federal  Public  Health  Administration :     Its  Development  and  Present  Status. 

Reprint  No.  112,  U.  S.  Pub.  Health  Reports,  1913. 
Public  Health  Reports.     Issued  weekly. 
Rural  Sanitation,  Pub.  Health  BuOetin  No.  94,  1918. 
Health  Insurance,  Pub.  Health  Reports,  vol,  34,  No.  16,  1919. 
The  Nation's  Physical  Fitness,  Pub.  Health  Reports,  vol.  34,  No.  13,  1919. 
Good  Water  for  Farm  Homes,  Pub.  Health  Bulletin  No.  70,  1915. 
Typhoid  Fever:     Its  Causation  and  Prevention,  Pub.  Health  Bulletin  No.  69, 

1915- 
Public  Health  Almanac  (for  current  year). 
What  the  Farmer  Can  Do  to  Prevent  Malaria,  Pub.  Health  Reports,  No.  11, 

Supplement,  1914. 
Fighting  Trim :     The  Importance  of  Right  Living.     Supplement  No.  5,  Pub. 

Health  Reports,  1913. 
The  Transmission  of  Disease  by  Flies,  Supplement  No.  29,  Pub.  Health  Reports, 

1916. 
The  Citizen  and  Public  Health,  Supplement  No.  4,  Pub.  Health  Reports,  1913. 
The  Department  of  Agriculture  publications  contain  material  relating  to  pubhc 
health.     For  example: 
Health  Laws,  Year  Book,  1913,  pp.  125-134. 

Animal  Disease  and  Our  Food  Supply,  Year  Book,  1915,  pp.  159-172. 
Public  Abattoirs  in  New  Zealand  and  Australia,  Year  Book,  1914,  pp.  433-436. 
Meat  Inspection  Service  of   the  U.  S.  Department  of   Agriculture,  Year  Book 

1916,  pp.  77-98. 
Sewage  Disposal  on  the  Farm,  Year  Book,  1916,  pp.  347-374. 
Clean  Water  and  How  to  Get  It  on  the  Farm,  Year  Book,  1914,  pp.  139-156. 
Dimn,  The  Community  and  the  Citizen,  chap.  IX. 
Beard,  C.  A.,  American  City  Government,  pp.  261-282, 


328  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

Among  the  Bulletins  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Education  treating  of  health 
matters  are  the  following  : 
iQio,  No.    5,  American  schoolhouses. 
igi3,  No.  44,  Organized  health  work  in  schools. 
No.  48,  School  hygiene. 
No.  52,  Sanitary  schoolhouses. 

1914,  No.  10,  Physical  growth  and  school  progress. 

No.  17,  Sanitary  survey  of  the  schools  of  Orange  County,  Va. 
No.  20,  The  rural  school  and  hookworm  disease. 

1915,  No.    4,  The  health  of  school  children. 
No.  21,  Schoolhouse  sanitation. 

No.  50,  Health  of  school  children. 
1917,  No.  50,  Physical  education  in  secondary  schools. 
1919,  No.    2,  Standardization  of  medical  inspection  facihties. 
No.  65,  The  eyesight  of  school  children. 
Pubhcations  of  the  Children's  Bureau,  Department  of  Labor. 

See,  for  example,  Rural  Children  in  Selected  Counties  of  North  Carolina,  Rural 
Child  Welfare  Series  No.   2,  and  Baby-Saving  Campaigns:    A  Preliminary 
Report  on  What  American  Cities  are  Doing  to   Prevent  Infant  MortaUty, 
Bureau  Publication  No.  3.     See  list  of  pubhcations  issued  by  the  Bureau. 
In  Lessotis  in  Community  and  National  Life : 

Series  B  :  Lesson  14,  The  United  States  Public  Health  Service. 

Series  C :  Lesson  19,  How  the  city  cares  for  health. 

Reports  of  the  Rockefeller  Foundation,  61  Broadway,  New  York  City. 


CHAPTER  XXI 
SOCIAL,    ^ESTHETIC,    AND    SPIRITUAL    WANTS 

Several  times  in  the  preceding  chapters  reference  has  been 

made  to  our  national  purpose  "to  transmute  days  of  dreary 

work  into  happier  Hves."     This  does  not  mean  to   _ 

'^'^  _  ,  Happiness 

get  rid  of  work ;  for  happiness  can  be  attained  only   through 
in  work  and  through  work.     Happiness  in  work   service 
depends  largely  upon  our  freedom  and  ability  to  choose  the 
kind  of  service  for  which  we  are  best  fitted,  and  upon  the  ex- 
tent  to  which  we  prepare  ourselves  for  it  (see  p.  136).     It 
also  depends  to  a  large  extent  upon  good  health  (p.  309). 

But  there  never  was  a  truer  statement  than  that  "all  work 
and  no  play  makes  Jack  a  dull  boy."     In  return  for  his  work 
every  citizen  is  entitled  to  enough  compensation  to   g  ..  .    ^. 
enable  him  to  provide  not  only  for  the  bare  neces-   of  higher 
sities  of  life,  such  as  food  and  shelter,  but  also  for   ^^^^^ 
the  pleasure  that  he  derives  from  the  satisfaction  of  his  higher 
wants,  such  as  social  life  and  recreation,  an  education  that  will 
give  him   a  richer  enjoyment  of  life,  pleasant  surroundings, 
religious  advantages. 

All  these  things  have  much  to  do  with  our  national  well- 
being  and  our  citizenship.  Our  nation  is  democratic  only  in 
proportion  to  the  equality  of  opportunity  enjoyed  g  y^  * 
by  all  citizens  to  satisfy  these  wants.  Moreover,  opportunity  to 
the  efi&ciency  of  each  citizen  in^Droductive  work  and  ^^^°^ 
as  a  participator  in  self-government  depends  more  than  we 
sometimes  think  upon  his  opportunity  to  "enjoy  life "  in  pleasant 
surroundings  and  in  wholesome  social  relations.     In  the  past 

329 


330  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

the  citizen  has  been  left  largely  to  his  own  resources  and  to 
purely  voluntary  cooperation  to  provide  for  these  wants.  Gov- 
ernment has  not  even  adequately  protected  his  rights  of  this 
kind,  to  say  nothing  of  positively  promoting  them.  At  present, 
however,  community  team  work  through  government  is  being 
organized  as  never  before  both  to  promote  and  to  protect  the 
interests  of  all  citizens  in  the  fullest  possible  enjoyment  of  life. 

Recreation  and  Social  Life 

Children  enjoy  play  because  it  satisfies  physical,  mental,  and 
social  wants.  But  it  is  also  the  principal  means  by  which  they 
The  value  of  prepare  for  the  more  serious  duties  of  later  life, 
play  It  builds  up  health,  trains  the  muscles  and  the 

senses,  and  sharpens  the  wits.  It  gives  practice  in  team  work, 
develops  leadership,  and  teaches  the  value  of  "rules  of  the 
game."  Every  child  is  entitled  to  an  abundant  opportunity  to 
play,  both  because  of  the  happiness  it  affords  him  and  because 
by  it  he  is  trained  for  membership  in  the  community.  It  is  to 
the  interest  of  the  community  to  afford  him  the  opportunity. 
It  is  largely  for  this  reason  that  most  of  the  states  protect 
children  by  law  from  being  put  to  work  for  a  living  at  too  early 
an  age. 

In  large  cities  thousands  of  children  live  in  crowded  districts 

where  there  is  no  place  to  play  except  in  the  public  streets. 

So  little  appreciative  have  we  been  of  the  impor- 
Opportunities  r     i        •     ^i       i        i  ^     r 

for  play  in         tance  of  play  m  the  development  oi  young  citizens 

cities  ^2i^  great  numbers  of  city  schools  have  been  built 

with  no  provision  whatever  for  playgrounds.     This  mistake  is 

slowly  being  corrected,  often  at  great  expense.     No  city  school 

is  now  considered  first-class  if  it  does  not  have  an  ample  and 

well-equipped  playground,  with  tcompetent  directors  to  teach 

children  how  to  get  the  most  out  of  their  play.     Most  cities 

are    also    establishing    public    playgrounds    apart    from    the 

schools,  sometimes  under  the  management  of  the  school  board, 


SOCIAL,   ESTHETIC,  AND   SPIRITUAL  WANTS         331 

but  often  under  that  of  a  special  playground  or  recreation 
commission. 

Play  for  the  children  of  rural  communities  is  as  important  as 
for  those  of  cities,  but  even  less  attention  has  been  given  to  it. 
Many  a  country  school  has  no  playground,  and  if   piay  in  rural 
it  has  one  it  is  likely  to  be  small  and  not  equipped   communities 
with    play    apparatus.      Why    should    there    be    playgrounds 
when  there  is  all  outdoors   in   which  to  play?     Why  should 


A  Typical  Rural  School  without  a  Yard 

there  be  expensive  play  apparatus  and  play  directors  when 
boys  and  girls  can  get  all  the  "exercise"  they  need  at  home  or 
on  the  farm?  "Play"  means  more  than  mere  physical  exer- 
cise, and  must  be  pleasurable  if  it  is  to  have  value.  Organized 
play  is  as  truly  a  means  of  education  as  any  school  instruction, 
and  must  have  competent  leadership  or  direction.  In  rural 
districts,  where  the  children  live  far  apart,  there  is  particular 
need  for  a  common  meeting  place  for  organized  group  play,  and 
the  school  is  the  most  appropriate  place  for  it. 


332 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


The  need  for  organized  play  in  rural  communities  is  one  of 

the  best  arguments  for  school  consolidation,  for  it  brings  together 

.  ^ ,       larsrer  numbers  and  makes  possible  the  employment 

Argument  for  °  ^  . 

school  con-  of  a  competent  play  director  and  the  proper  equip- 
soUdation  ment  of  the  playground.  Teacher-training  schools 
now  make  a  point  of  training  play  leaders  as  well  as  teachers  of 
arithmetic  and  geography. 


A  "Superior"  Two-Room  School  in  Illinois 
Three  acres  of  ground.     Teachers'  apartments  in  basement. 

As  children  grow  older,  an  increasing  part  of  their  time  must 
be  given  to  work  —  school  work,  tasks  at  home,  remunerative 
Meaning  of  employment  outside  of  the  home.  After  leaving 
recreation  school  and  throughout  adult  life,  work  absorbs  the 
major  part  of  one's  time  and  attention.  But  even  then,  "all 
work  and  no  play"  will  continue  to  "make  Jack  a  dull  boy." 
We  now  call  play  "recreation,"  for  by  it  body  and  mind  and 
spirit  are  refreshed,  renewed,  re-created,  after  close  application 
to  work.  That  is  why  school  work  is  broken  by  "recesses." 
Recreation  is  necessary  as  a  means  of  providing  for  physical, 


SOCIAL,   ESTHETIC,  AND    SPIRITUAL  WANTS         333 

mental,  and  social  wants ;  for  the  pleasure  that  it  affords.  But, 
it  is  also  important  in  its  relation  to  work,  for  without  it  body 
and  mind  become  "fagged,"  people  grow  "stale"  at  their  work, 
producing  power  and  power  of  service  are  reduced. 

It  is  very  easy  to  get  out  of  the  habit  of  play,  and  especially 
difficult  to  form  the  habit  in  adult  life  if  it  has  not  been  done  in 
youth.  People  often  become  so  absorbed  in  work  xhe  habit  of 
that  there  seems  to  be  no  time  for  recreation.  In  P'^y 
such  cases  not  only  is  the  enjoyment  of  life  narrowed,  but  there 
is  a  risk  of  damaging  the  quality  of  one's  work  and  even  of  short- 
ening one's  life  of  productive  activity,  or  of  service. 


h 


•ifiiiMi?^ 


Playgrotjnd  or  Consolidated  School,  Rolf,  Iowa 

Every  worker  is  entitled  to  opportunity  for  recreation,  both 
for  his  own  sake  and  for  the  well-being  of  the  community. 
This  means,  first  of  all,  that  he  must  have  leisure  Leisure  a  re- 
for  it.  When  people  have  to  work  hard  for  ten  or  quirement 
twelve  or  more  hours  a  day,  year  in  and  year  out,  as  was  once 
customary  in  industry,  there  is  neither  time  nor  energy  for 
wholesome  recreation.  That  such  conditions  existed,  and  still 
exist  to  a  considerable  extent,  is  due  to  gross  imperfections  in 
the  industrial  organization  of  the  community.  One  of  the 
evidences  of  progress  toward   "transmuting  days  of  dreary 


334  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

work  into  happier  lives"  is  the  reduction  in  the  hours  of  toil  in 
many  industries,  and  the  consequent  increase  of  leisure  for  the 
enjoyment  of  life  and  for  self-improvement. 

One  of  the  things  for  which  labor  unions  have  struggled  is  the  shorten- 
ing of  the  working  day.  Through  their  efforts,  and  through  the  awakening 
of  public  interest  and  knowledge  in  regard  to  the  matter,  the  working 
day  is  now  fixed  by  law  at  eight  hours  in  most  industries,  often  with  a  half 
holiday  on  Saturdays.  Experience  has  shown  that  this  change  has  in  no 
way  reduced  the  product  of  industry.  There  are  still  some  industries, 
however,  in  which  men  toil  at  the  hardest  kind  of  labor  for  twelve  or  more 
hours  a  day,  sometimes  even  including  Sundays. 

A  second  thing  necessary  to  afford  opportunity  for  recreation 
is  an  income  from  one's  work  sufficient  to  provide  more  than 
A  living  wage  the  bare  necessities  of  life.  Before  the  war,  it  is 
a  necessity  said,  more  than  five  million  families,  or  about  one 
fourth  of  the  families  in  the  United  States,  were  trying  to  live 
on  a  wage  of  $50  a  month,  or  less.  During  the  war,  wages  of 
skilled  and  unskilled  labor  shot  upward ;  but  so,  also,  did  the  cost 
of  living.  It  is  not  easy  to  determine  just  what  share  of  the 
proceeds  of  industry  should,  in  justice,  go  to  the  laborer  in 
wages.  But  it  should  be  enough  to  provide  not  only  for  food 
and  clothing  and  shelter,  but  also  for  decent  family  life,  for 
healthful  surroundings,  for  education  for  the  children,  and  for 
wholesome  recreation. 

Labor  unions  and  others  interested  in  a  fairer  distribution  of  the  proceeds 
of  industry  have  long  been  working  for  the  enactment  of  "minimum  wage 
laws,"  that  is,  laws  fixing  the  least  wage  that  may  be  paid  for  each  class  of 
labor,  this  to  be  enough  to  provide  a  reasonable  satisfaction  of  all  the  wants 
of  life.  Some  states  have  already  enacted  such  laws,  and  during  the  recent 
war  the  federal  government  in  some  cases  fixed  rates  of  wages,  and  appointed 
labor  boards  to  adjust  wages  to  the  rising  cost  of  living. 

Neither  leisure  nor  income,  however,  suffice  for  recreation 
unless  they  are  wisely  used.  Mere  idleness  is  not  recreation ; 
and  many  people  use  their  leisure  in  dissipation  instead  of  in 


SOCIAL,   ESTHETIC,  AND    SPIRITUAL   WANTS         335 


recreation.     "Dissipation"  is  the  opposite  of  thrift.     It  means 
to  "throw  away,"  or  to  be  wasteful.     A  person  may  "dissi- 
pate"   his    income.      We    have    come    to    under-  The  wise  use 
stand  the  word  "dissipation,"  however,  to  mean  of  leisure 
excessive    indulgence    in   pleasures    or    amusements    that   are 
wasteful  of  time,  energy,  or  health,  or  all  three ;  and  we  call  the 


A  Rural  May  Day  at  a  Consolidated  School 

person  "dissipated"  who  is  addicted  to  such  indulgence.  Any 
amusement,  even  though  harmless  in  itself,  may  become  dissi- 
pation if  indulged  in  to  excess,  or  at  the  sacrifice  of  other  things 
that  are  better. 

One  of  the  principal  disadvantages  often  put  forward  against 
life  in  rural  communities  is  the  lack  of  opportunity  for  recrea- 
tion.    It  partly  explains  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  ^^^^  oppor- 
an  abundance  of  farm  labor,  and  is  one  of  the  obsta-   tunities  for 
cles  to  inducing  young  people  to  remain  on  the 
farm.     Unfortunately,  too,  the  women  on  the  farm  have  often 
been  the  chief  sufferers  from  close  confinement  to  the  drudgery 
of  housework,  with  little  opportunity  for  recreation  and  less 
chance  than  the  men  have  to  enjoy  the  companionship  of  other 
people. 


336  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

The  very  nature  of  farming  entails  hard  work  and  long  hours, 
especially  at  certain  seasons.  Under  existing  conditions  it  is 
hard  to  see  how  the  farmer's  working  day  could  be  limited  to 
eight  hours  as  in  most  other  occupations. 

The  citizen  farmer  who  Hves  in  the  same  community  with  the  miner  .  .  . 
must  invest  in  land  and  buildings,  tools  and  livestock.  He  must  pay  taxes 
and  insurance  and  repairs  and  veterinary  fees.  He  must  work  often  sixteen 
hours,  seldom  less  than  ten,  and  he  must  be  on  duty  day  and  night,  ready 
always  to  care  for  his  independent  plant  —  all  this,  and  yet  in  order  to  re- 
ceive a  iabor  income  equal  to  that  of  the  soft  coal  miner  ...  the  farmer 
must  not  only  work  himself  as  no  professional  laborer  ever  works,  but  he 
must  also  work  his  children  without  pay.' 

Although  this  only  too  faithfully  describes  living  conditions 
on  the  farm  as  they  have  been  in  the  past  and  still  are  in  many 
J  ,  cases,  much  improvement  has  taken  place.     Im- 

conditions  on  provement  of  agricultural  machinery  and  methods 
the  farm  j^^^  brought  a  greater  measure  of  leisure  to  the 

farmer,  while  better  means  of  transportation  and  communica- 
tion have  both  saved  him  time  and  made  easier  for  him  and  his 
family  association  with  other  people  and  the  enjoyment  of 
entertainment  in  the  neighboring  village  or  city.  The  farm 
woman  has  benefited  by  the  introduction  of  labor-saving 
devices  and  better  management  in  the  household,  and  by  the 
development  of  community  cooperation  in  such  matters  as 
dairying  and  laundry  work  (see  pp.  io6,  107).  In  fact, 
better  team  work  in  every  phase  of  the  business  of  agriculture 
means  greater  opportunity  for  the  enjoyment  of  living,  and  the 
efforts  of  the  national  and  state  governments  to  encourage  such 
team  work  and  to  improve  the  methods  of  agriculture  have  for 
their  purpose  not  merely  the  increase  of  the  agricultural  product, 
but  also  the  greater  happiness  of  the  rural  citizen. 

'  E.  Davenport,  Dean  of  the  College  of  Agriculture,  University  of  Illinois,  in 
"Proceedings  of  the  First  National  Country  Life  Conference,"  Baltimore,  1919, 
P-  183. 


SOCIAL,   ESTHETIC,  AND    SPIRITUAL  WANTS         337 

When  leisure  may  be  found  for  recreation,  the  facilities  for 
it  are  often  inadequate.  The  city,  and  even  the  village,  affords 
facilities  for  amusement  and  social  enjoyment  that  Facilities  for 
good  roads,  automobiles,  and  trolley  lines  have  made  dissipation 
more  accessible  than  formerly  to  the  country  round  about. 
While  the  urban  community  naturally  affords  greater  oppor- 
tunity than  the  rural  community  for  social  recreation,  its  oppor- 


At  Tire  Corner  Sai.oox 
"Almost  every  community  has  its  well-known  loafing  place." 

tunities  for  dissipation  are  equally  great.  "Going  to  the 
movies"  may  be  a  real  recreation,  or  it  may  become  a  dissipa- 
tion when  indulged  in  to  excess  without  discrimination  as  to  the 
merit  of  the  performance.  Almost  every  village  has  its  well- 
known  "loafing  places,"  and  the  saloon  used  to  be  a  favorite 
meeting  place  for  certain  classes  of  people.  Amusements  that 
are  especially  harmful  are  more  or  less  regulated  by  law.  Even 
moving  pictures  are  "censored."  Saloons  have  now  been 
totally  abolished. 


338  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

The  most  effective  preventive  of  dissipation  is  ample  provi- 
sion for  wholesome  recreation.  Various  agencies  in  urban 
Facilities  for  communities  seek  to  supply  this  need,  both  for 
recreation  their  own  residents  and  for  visitors  from  outside. 
Men's  clubs,  such  as  chambers  of  commerce,  afford  social  and 
amusement  advantages  for  the  business  men  of  the  town,  and 
for  visiting  farmers  who  formerly  met  only  at  the  store  or 
courthouse,   in   the   saloon   or   on   the   street   corner.     Public 


A  School  BmLoiNG  Used  as  a  Commxtnity  Center 

libraries,  often  with  the  cooperation  of  women's  clubs,  provide 
"rest  rooms,"  arranged  for  the  comfort  and  entertainment  of 
visiting  women,  and  afford  means  of  profitable  and  enjoyable 
recreation  for  young  people.  Town  churches  sometimes  main- 
tain social  rooms,  open  during  the  week  for  similar  purposes. 
The  Young  Men's  and  Young  Women's  Christian  Associations 
have  performed  a  great  service  by  providing  entertainment  and 
social  Hfe  for  young  people.  One  of  the  more  recent  develop- 
ments is  the  "community  center,"  usually  at  the  schoolhouse, 
where   there  are  offered   lectures  and   concerts,   social   enter- 


SOCIAL,  ESTHETIC,   AND    SPIRITUAL  WANTS         339 

tainments,  dances,  games,  and  sports.  In  some  large  cities  such 
"recreation  centers"  are  of  the  greatest  value  in  the  crowded 
districts. 

Rural  communities  have  suffered  from  a  dearth  of  recrea- 
tional facilities  of  their  own,  especially  of  a  social  type.     One  of 
the  most  promising  influences  to  supply  this  defi-   Opportunities 
ciency   is    the    consolidated    school,   which    makes  afforded  by 
provision  for  assembly  hails,  social  gatherings,  and   soiidated 
recreation  grounds  for  young  and  old  alike.     An   school 
illustration   of  tliis  is  given  in   Chapter  XIX   (p.    296).     De- 
velopment of   community  recreation  centers   at    consolidated 
rural  schools  is  going  on  rapidly  in  many  parts  of  the  country. 

Iowa  affords  a  striking  example  of  this.  In  that  state  more  than  2000 
one-room  country  schools  have  been  consolidated  into  something  more  than 
300,  and  consolidation  is  still  going  on.  Some  of  these  consolidated  schools 
have  five  acres  of  land,  where  provision  is  made,  not  only  for  gardening  and 
farming  activities,  but  also  for  picnic  grounds  and  for  fields  for  athletic  sports 
and  contests.  The  buildings  contain  assembly  halls,  gymnasiums,  and 
kitchens  where  food  is  prepared  for  social  entertainments  as  well  as  for  school 
lunches  and  for  the  teaching  of  cooking. 

One  of  the  chief  obstacles  to  the  development  of  rural  com- 
munity recreation  has  been  the  absence  of  leadership.  The 
consolidated  school  helps  to  remedy  this.  Other  Need  for 
agencies,  however,  are  doing  something  to  provide  leadership 
such  leadership,  among  the  most  active  of  which  is  the  county 
work  department  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association, 
which  has  organized  county-wide  athletic  associations  and 
rural  play  festivals  and  field  days  in  many  localities. 

There  are  agencies,  or  organizations,  in  almost  every  com- 
munity that  could  and  should  serve  recreational  ends.     The 

trouble  with  many  of  us  is  not  so  much  the  lack  oi  ^      .     , 

-'  Knowing  how 

time  or  of  the  means  for  recreation,  but  a  lack  of   to  use  oppor- 
knowledge  of  how  to  get  the  most  out  of  our  recrea-   *"'"*'®^ 
tional  opportunities.     Hence  the  need  for  leadership.     Hence, 


340  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

also,  the  need  for  an  education  that  will  open  up  to  us  new  avenues 
of  enjoyment.  Recreation  may  be  obtained  not  only  from 
athletic  sports  and  social  entertainments,  but  from  the  fields 
and  woods,  from  books  and  music  and  pictures,  even  from 
variety  in  our  work,  if  we  only  knew  how  to  find  it.  The  school 
is  under  as  great  obligation  to  provide  us  with  an  education 
that  will  teach  us  this  as  it  is  to  equip  us  to  earn  a  living. 

Investigate  and  report  on : 

The  opportunities  for  play  in  your  community. 

The  forms  of  play  most  prevalent  in  your  community. 

The  extent  to  which  play  in  your  community  develops  team  work  and 
leadership. 

How  your  school  playground  could  be  improved. 

Play  as  a  means  of  education  in  your  school. 

Agencies  besides  the  school  that  afford  opportunity  for  play  in  your 
community. 

Leisure  on  the  farms  of  your  locality :  for  men ;  for  women ;  for  chil- 
dren. 

Could  an  eight-hour  day  be  applied  to  farming  in  your  locality?     Why? 

Length  of  the  working  day  for  different  employments  in  your  town  or 
neighboring  city. 

Minimum  wage  laws  in  your  state. 

Recreational  facilities  and  agencies  in  your  community. 

Community  centers  in  your  community  and  their  activities. 

The  value  of  a  county  field  day  in  your  community. 

Meaning  of  the  statement  that  "the  boy  without  a  playground  is  father 
to  the  man  without  a  job." 

Attractive  Surroundings 

Beauty  in  one's  surroundings  adds  much  to  the  enjoyment  of 

life,  and  therefore,  also,  to  one's  efficiency  in  work  and  as  a 

.         .  ..         citizen. 
Appreciation 

of  that  which         People  are  often  apparently  blind  to  the  beauty 

eau  1  u        j.j^g^^  jg  around  them.     "Having  eyes,  they  see  not ; 

and  ears,  they  hear  not."     Those  who  live  in  the  open  country 

are  surrounded  by  natural  beauties  of  which  city  dwellers  are 


SOCIAL,   .ESTHETIC,   AND    SPIRITUAL  WANTS         341 

largely  deprived.  Too  often,  however,  they  are  unconscious 
of  them  or  indifferent  to  them.  To  the  hard-working  farmer  a 
gorgeous  sunset  may  be  little  more  than  a  sign  of  the  weather  on 
the  morrow,  and  the  beauty  of  a  field  of  wheat  or  corn  may  be 
lost  in  the  thought  of  the  toil  that  has  gone  into  it,  or  of  the 
dollars  that  may  come  out  of  it.  Fortunate  is  the  rural  dweller 
whose  toil  and  isolation  are  tempered  by  an  appreciation  of  the 
beauties  of  the  natural  world  about  him  ! 


Ruth's  Home  Beautified 

Two  views  of  Ruth's  home  are  shown  on  page  109.  The  National  Government 
took  so  much  interest  in  her  efforts  to  improve  her  home  conditions,  as  descriijed 
on  page  108,  that  the  Horticultural  Bureau  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture 
planned  for  her  the  adornment  of  her  home  as  shown  here.  Note  what  a  trans- 
formation it  makes. 

Love  for  and  appreciation  of  that  which  is  beautiful  may  be 
cultivated.  It  is  a  part  of  one's  education.  The  schools  now 
give  more  attention  to  it  than  formerly ;  but  many  ns  cuiti- 
of  them  do  not  yet  give  enough.  Appreciation  of  vation 
beauty  is  cultivated  not  merely  by  instruction  in  "art,"  but  also 
by  those  studies  that  increase  one's  knowledge  of  the  common 
things  about  us.    The  teaching  of  agriculture  and  of  science  has 


342  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

a  very  practical  purpose ;  but  its  purpose  is  only  partly  accom- 
plished if  it  teaches  us  how  to  raise  corn  or  cotton  without 
opening  our  eyes  to  the  wonders  of  nature  involved  in  the 
proce'ss. 

An  appreciation  of  beauty  may  be  cultivated,  also,  by  associa- 
tion with  it,  as  it  may  be  destroyed  by  constant  association  with 
that  which  is  ugly.  People  who  live  in  unkempt  and  slovenly 
surroundings  are  likely  to  become  indifferent  to  them.  It  is 
the  duty  of  every  one  to  have  a  care  for  the  appearance  of  his 
surroundings  both  because  of  its  effect  upon  himself  and  its 
influence  upon  others. 

A  stranger  who  visits  our  school  is  likely  to  judge  it,  first 
of  all,  by  its  appearance.  He  will  note  whether  or  not  the 
Importance  of  building  is  in  good  repair,  the  condition  of  the 
appearances  grounds  and  fences,  the  presence  or  absence  of 
flower  beds,  shrubs,  and  trees.  Inside,  he  will  observe  the 
cleanliness  and  orderliness  of  the  room,  the  decorations  on  the 
walls,  the  presence  or  absence  of  pictures  and  flowers  and 
plants;  yes,  and  also  the  care  the  pupils  and  teacher  take  of 
their  personal  appearance.  These  things  are  signs  to  the 
visitor  of  the  interest  taken  by  pupils,  school  authorities,  and 
the  community  in  their  school.  They  are  also  signs  of  the 
character  of  the  work  done  in  the  school,  and  of  the  happiness 
of  the  pupils. 

In  a  similar  manner,  the  visitor  to  your  community  will  form 
his  first  opinion  of  it  by  its  appearance.  He  will  note,  first  of 
A  community  ^^^y  ^^^  appearance  of  the  homes,  and  then,  prob- 
judged  by  ably,  the  cleanliness  and  state  of  repair  of  the 
appear  nc  streets  or  roads.  He  will  observe  the  condition  of 
the  fences,  and  whether  or  not  the  weeds  are  cut  along  the 
roads.  He  will  notice,  also,  the  extent  to  which  the  people  love 
flowers,  and  care  for  trees  and  vacant  lots.  All  of  these  things 
will  be  signs  to  him  of  the  prosperity,  the  happiness,  the  "com- 
munity spirit,"  of  the  citizens.     They  will  doubtless  enter  into 


SOCIAL,   ESTHETIC,   AND    SPIRITUAL  WANTS         343 

his  decision  as  to  whether  or  not  he  cares  to  Hve,  or  estabHsh  a 
business,  or  educate  his  children,  in  that  community. 

In  cities  a  good  deal  of  attention  is  usually  given  to  such 
matters,  and  laws  exist,  with  government  officers  to  administer 
them,  for  the  protection  and  promotion  of  com-   community 
munity  beauty.     In  rural  communities  these  mat-  interest  in 
ters  are  left  more  largely  to  individual  initiative     ^^"*^ 
and  voluntary  cooperation.     It  becomes  a  matter  of  public 
interest  and  spirit  on  the  part  of  the  individual  and  the  family. 


An  AxTRACTrvE  Rural  Schoolhouse 

It  is  true  that  some  things  are  done  through  government  authori- 
ties, as  in  the  improvement  of  the  roads  and  the  building  of 
bridges  and  culverts  that  are  of  pleasing  design  as  well  as  serv- 
iceable. In  some  New  England  "  towns  "  there  are  "  town  plan- 
ning" boards,  which  carefully  plan  for  the  laying  out  of  streets 
and  their  improvement,  the  proper  location  of  public  buildings 
and  the  style  of  architecture  to  be  used,  the  location  and  de- 
velopment of  parks  and  playgrounds,  the  enactment  of  suitable 
housing  laws,  and  other  matters  pertaining  to  the  beauty  of  the 
community  as  well  as  to  the  well-being  of  its  citizens  (see 
p.  400). 


344 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


Systematic  planning  of  rural  communities  with  a  view  to 
making  them  beautiful  has  not  been  carried  very  far  in  this 
Community  Country.  In  fact,  as  one  travels  over  a  large  part 
planning  of   the    United    States   one  is   impressed  by   the 

monotonous  and  unattractive  character  of  the  towns  and  vil- 
lages. This  is  not  true  everywhere,  for  in  some  parts  of  the 
country,  usually  those  that  have  been  settled  longest,  one  sees 
beautiful   villages   that   fit   harmoniously  into   the   landscape. 


M 


The  Commercial  Billboard  Mars  the  Beauty  of  City  and  Rural 

Communities 

But  over  large  areas  of  the  country  it  seems  that  wherever  man 
has  gone  he  has  marred  the  beauty  of  nature. 

There  is  nothing  in  which  the  influence  of  example  is  so 
quickly  seen  as  in  matters  relating  to  appearance.  People  are 
Influence  of  proiie  to  copy  their  neighbors  in  matters  of  style, 
example  whether  it  be  in  dress  or  in  architecture. 

In  one  rather  wretched  community  a  few  boys  who  were  studying  civics 
sought  permission  to  lay  sod  in  the  dooryard  of  a  tenement  house.  Having 
obtained  permission  and  laid  the  sod,  it  was  not  long  before  some  one  else 
in  the  neighborhood  did  likewise,  and  soon  people  all  around  were  sodding 
their  yards  or  sowing  grass  seed.  Then  they  began  to  repair  and  paint  their 
fences  and  otherwise  "tidy  up"  their  places,  until  the  whole  neighborhood  was 
transformed  in  appearance.  It  is  interesting  to  note,  also,  that  as  the  com- 
munity improved  in  appearance,  it  also  became  less  lawless  than  it  had  been. 


SOCIAL,   .ESTHETIC,  AND    SPIRITUAL  WANTS         345 

This  is  one  phase  of  community  hfe  in  which  it  is  easy  to  estab- 
lish leadership,  and  in  which  young  people  can  perform  valuable 
civic  service  and  contribute  materially  toward  "transmuting 
days  of  dreary  work  into  happier  lives." 

Investigate  and  report  on : 

The  natural  beauty  of  your  community. 

How  natural  beauty  has  been  destroyed  in  your  community. 

How  natural  beauty  has  been  preserved  in  your  community. 

Our  national  parks. 

How  your  school  promotes  the  love  for  beauty. 

How  your  school  could  be  made  more  beautiful. 

How  you  and  your  schoolmates  could  make  your  school  more  beautiful. 

What  impression  a  stranger  would  get  of  your  community  from  its  appear- 
ance. 

The  features  in  the  appearance  of  your  community  of  which  you  are 
proud.     Those  of  which  you  are  ashamed. 

Agencies  that  exist  in  your  community  to  promote  its  beauty. 

Ways  in  which  you  can  participate  in  making  your  community  more 
beautiful. 

Religious  Life  and  Agencies 

In  some  countries  church  and  state  are  inseparably  bound 
together.  Before  the  recent  war  the  Russian  Czar  was  also  the 
head  of  the  Russian  church.  In  our  own  country  Government 
in  colonial  times,  no  citizen  was  permitted  to  vote  ^"^  rehgion 
in  the  New  England  town  meeting  (see  page  3S1)  who  did  not 
belong  to  the  Puritan  church  of  the  community.  This  religious 
qualification  for  participation  in  government  was  in  the  course 
of  time  dispensed  with,  and  one  of  the  fundamental  principles 
of  our  democracy  is  that  every  citizen  shall  have  complete 
liberty  of  religious  belief.  Our  government  exercises  no  control 
over  the  religious  life  of  the  people  other  than  to  guarantee  this 
liberty.  "Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  estab- 
lishment of  religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof" 
(United  States  Constitution,  Amendment  I).  State  consti- 
tutions contain  similar  guarantees.     To  prevent  government 


346  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

interference  with  religion,  religious  institutions  are  exempt  from 

taxation. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  church  and  other  religious  institutions 

are  an  important  means  of  community  control.     They  do  not 

^  ,.  .  exercise    this    control    through    government,    but 

Rebgion  a  o       o  j 

means  of  through  the  influence  of  their  own  beliefs  and  organ- 

control  ization  upon  the  conduct  of   their  members.     If 

everybody  should  live  in  accordance  with  the  Golden  Rule, 
there  would  be  no  need  for  government  as  a  means  of  repression, 
but  only  as  a  means  of  performing  service. 

One  of  the  unfortunate  things  about  the  church  has  been  the 

fact  that  more  or  less  important  differences  in  religious  belief 

have  tended  to  break  up  the  community  into  nu- 

Religious  dif-  ...  ,  ,  rx^,  •  i 

ferences  an  merous  rehgious  groups,  or  churches.  1  his  may  be 
obstacle  to  necessary  in  purely  religious  matters,  but  it  has  too 
often  happened  that  the  people  have  allowed  their 
religious  differences  to  prevent  united  action  in  other  matters 
of  common  interest  to  the  entire  community.  In  some  cases 
communities  have  been  broken  up  into  rival,  or  even  hostile, 
factions  because  of  this.  There  is,  however,  a  growing  toler- 
ance of  one  religious  sect  or  denomination  by  others,  which  is  in 
accord  with  the  Christian  spirit,  and  is  necessary  if  community 
life  is  to  be  well  developed.  It  often  happens  that  there  are 
more  churches  of  the  same  denomination  in  a  community  than 
it  can  support.  In  such  cases,  at  least,  there  is  need  for 
church  consolidation  similar  to  the  consolidation  of  schools, 
and  for  the  same  reason. 

The  church  may  be,  and  often  is,  an  important  agency  in  the 
community  for  the  performance  of  services  other  than  that  of 
Social  service  ministering  to  the  religious  wants  of  the  people, 
of  the  church  Qr,  to  speak  more  correctly,  it  has  realized  more  or 
less  fully  that  the  religious  wants  of  the  people  are  closely  bound 
up  with  their  other  wants,  and  seeks  to  minister  to  these  other 
wants  as  a  part  of  its  religious  duty.     Thus,  we  find  the  church 


SOCIAL,  ESTHETIC,  AND   SPIRITUAL  WANTS         347 


Courtesy  ^ mencare  Ma^u^im  of  Art 

The  Village  Church,  Lyme,  Conn. 

A  painting  by  Everett  Warner. 

This  is  a  typical  early  New  England  church,  where  people  not  only  worshiped, 
but  also  met  in  town  meeting.     (See  p.  395.) 

growing  more  active  in  looking  after  the  health  interests,  edu- 
cational interests,  and  social  and  recreational  interests  of  its 
members  and  others. 


348 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


Investigate  and  report  on : 

The  number  of  religious  denominations  having  churches  in  your  com- 
munity. 

The  number  of  churches  in  each  denomination. 
Membership  and  attendance  in  the  churches  of  your  community. 
Arguments  for  and  against  church  consolidation  in  your  community. 
Activities  of  churches  in  your  community,  other  than  religious. 
Religious  organizations  other  than  churches  in  your  community. 


The  Social  Value  of  the  Rural  Church 


READINGS 


In  LeSsons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 

Series  A :   Lesson  27,  Concentration  of  social  institutions  (including  the  school 

and  the  church). 
Series  B  :   Lesson  12,  Impersonality  of  modern  life. 

Lesson  20,  The  church  as  a  social  institution. 
Lesson  29,  Labor  organizations. 
Series  C :   Lesson  11,  The  effects  of  machinery  on  rural  life. 
Lesson  29,  Child  labor. 
[    Lesson  32,  Housing  for  workers. 


SOCIAL,   /ESTHETIC,  AND    SPIRITUAL  WANTS         349 

"Sources  of  Information  on  Play  and  Recreation,"  by  Lee  F.  Hanmer  and  Howard 
W.  Knight ;    Department  of  Recreation,  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  New  York 

(1915)- 
The  Playground.     A  monthly  pubUcation  of  the  Playground  and  Recreation  As- 
sociation of  America,  i  Madison  Ave.,  New  York  ($2  a  year). 
Neighborhood   Play.     A   manual   of   rural   recreation    (The   Youth's   Companion, 

Boston). 
McCready,  S.  B.,  Rural  Science  Reader.     In  "  Rural  Education  Series,"  H.  W.  Foght, 

general  editor  (Heath). 
Write  the  County  Work  Department,  International  Committee  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 

for  material. 
Foght,  H.  W.,  The  Rural  Teacher  and  His  Work,  Chapter  VI  (The  rural  school  and 

community  recreation). 
Jackson,  Henry  E.,  A   Community  Center  —  What  It  Is  and  How  to  Organize  II, 

U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin,  igi8,  No.  11. 
Quick,  Herbert,  "The  rural  awakening  in  its  relation  to  civic  and  social  center  de- 
velopment."    Bulletin  No.  474,  University  of  Wisconsin. 
"Beautifying  the  Farmstead,"    Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  1087,  U.  S.  Department  of 

Agriculture. 
Proceedings  First  National  Country  Life  Conference  (address  Dwight  Sanderson, 
Secretary,  Cornell  University,  Ithaca,  N.  Y.) ;  "Play  and  recreation  in  rural 
life,"  p.  95 ;  "Religious  forces  for  country  life,"  p.  83. 
Jackson,  Henry  E.,  The  Community  Church  (Macmillan). 

Numerous  "surveys"  of  rural  communities  have  been  made  by  various  agencies. 
Among  them  are  those  made  by  the  Department  of  Church  and  Country  Life 
of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  156  Fifth  Ave., 
New  York.  Extensive  surveys  are  being  made  by  the  Inter-Church  World 
Movement,  45  West  i8th  St.,  New  York. 
Bulletin  No.  184  of  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Iowa  State  Agricultural 
College,  Ames,  Iowa,  contains  a  social  survey  of  Orange  Township,  Blackhawk 
County,  Iowa. 
Write  your  State  Agricultural  College  or  State  University  for  possible  materials  of  a 
local  character. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

DEPENDENT,  DEFECTIVE,  AND  DELINQUENT  MEMBERS  OF 
THE  COMMUNITY 

In  every  community  there  are  some  members  who  are  not 
self-supporting  and  who  do  not  contribute  materially  to  the 
community's  progress  (see  Chapter  V  and  Chapter  XI,  p.  128). 

The  very  young  and  the  very  aged  come  within  this  group. 

Both  are  peculiarly  dependent  upon  others,  though  the  aged 

Who  con-         may,  by  thrift  in  earlier  years,  have  acquired  a 

stitutede-         competence  with  which  to  meet  the  needs  of  old 

pendents,  de-  i     .      1 

fectives,  and     ^E^  '■>    ^^^  the  young  are  expected,  m  later  years, 

delinquents  ^q  compensate  the  community  for  the  care  they 
have  received  from  others  during  childhood. 

There  are  those,  also,  of  all  ages,  who  are  incapacitated  for 
self-support  and  for  service  by  disease,  or  by  physical  or  mental 
defects  such  as  bodily  deformities,  blindness,  or  feeble-minded- 
ness.  In  addition,  there  are  some  who,  though  physically  able 
to  perform  service,  deliberately  prey  upon  the  community  in 
one  manner  or  another  without  giving  anything  in  return. 
The  latter  constitute  the  delinquent  class,  and  include  criminals. 

Normally,  the  needs  of  those  who  are  unable  to  support 
themselves,  whether  because  of  extreme  youth  or  old  age  or 
Relation  of  because  of  physical  or  mental  defects,  are  pro- 
the  family  to     vided  for  by  the  family.     It  frequently  happens, 

e  pro  em  however,  that  the  family  is  unable  to  perform  this 
service.  It  may  be  entirely  broken  up.  Children  may  be  left 
without  parents,  and  the  aged  without  children.  The  natural 
supporters  of  the  family  may  be  stricken  by  disease,  or  by 
accident,  or  by  financial  misfortune.  Moreover,  the  proper 
care  and  treatment  of  many  defectives  require  better  facilities 
and  greater  skill  than  can  be  provided  even  by  well-to-do 

350 


DEPENDENT  MEMBERS   OF  THE   COMMUNITY       35 1 

families.  Thus  a  class  of  dependents  is  produced  —  dependents 
upon  the  community  as  a  whole.  They  may  or  may  not  be 
defectives,  physical  or  mental.  Dissipation  and  thriftlessness 
are  two  of  the  chief  causes  of  dependency. 

In  the  lower  stages  of  civilization  it  was  not  uncommon  for 
the  feeble  and  the  helpless  to  be  put  to  death,  even  sickly 
children  and  persons  infirm  from  old  age.  This  Treatment  in 
was  done  in  the  name  of  community  interest.  The  ^^^^^  times 
struggle  for  existence  was  so  severe  that  the  presence  of  non- 
producing  or  non-fighting  members  endangered  the  entire 
group.  Besides,  it  was  the  belief  in  most  cases  that  the  sacrifice 
of  the  helpless  simply  hastened  their  passage  into  a  happier  life. 

Humane  considerations  now  prevent  such  treatment  of  the 
helpless.  Moreover,  with  our  increased  skill  in  medicine  and 
surgery  and  education,  the  diseased  and  defective  R^jj^cing  the 
may  often  be  restored  to  health  or  fitted  for  some  wastage  of 
form  of  self-support  that  makes  them  happier  and  ^^^^  ® 
of  use  to  the  community.  The  wastage  of  human  life  has  been 
greatly  reduced  in  recent  years.  Many  of  the  soldiers  who  re- 
turned from  the  war  in  Europe  so  broken  in  body  or  mind  that 
in  former  times  they  would  have  dragged  out  the  remainder 
of  their  lives  a  burden  to  themselves  and  to  others  have,  by 
surgical  skill  and  special  forms  of  education,  been  restored 
wholly  or  partially  to  the  ranks  of  the  self-supporting  and  useful 
members  of  the  community.  This  rehabilitation  of  the  de- 
pendent and  defective  members  of  the  community,  whether 
their  misfortune  is  due  to  war  or  other  causes,  is  the  chief  aim  of 
the  treatment  given  them  by  the  community  at  the  present  time. 

It  is  an  accepted  principle  that  each  community  should,  so 
far  as  possible,  care  for  its  own  unfortunates,  and  the  effective- 
ness with  which  it  is  done  varies.     But  every-  ^^       ^^._ 
where  it  has  taken  a  long  time  to  change  from  the  biiity  of  each 
old  policy  of  mere  relief  to  the  new  policy  of  re-  co°i™"nity 
habilitation  (see  above). 


352  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

In  New  England  and  in  a  few  other  states  the  town,  or  town- 
ship, is  the  unit  for  administering  "poor  reUef,"  but  elsewhere 
it   is   the   county.     The   "almshouse,"   or   "poor 
almshouse        farm,"  or  "county  infirmary"  is  the  usual   local 

and  its  institution  for  this  purpose.     Unfortunately  it  has 

defects 

been,  as  a  rule,  badly  managed.     Men  and  women, 

old  people  and  children,  healthy  and  diseased,  blind  and  crippled, 

moral  and  immoral,  even  the  insane,  have  been  housed  together, 

often  mingling  with  one  another  with  little  restriction.     The 

evils  of  such  a  system  are  apparent. 

Moreover,  the  policy  of  the  typical  almshouse  has  been 
merely  to  give  shelter  and  food  and  clothing  to  those  who  ap- 
Short-sighted  P^al  for  it,  rather  than  to  remedy  the  causes  of  de- 
policy  pendency  or  to  restore  the  unfortunate  to  a  basis 
of  self-support  and  usefulness.  Medical  treatment  is  of  course 
given,  but  the  means  do  not  exist  to  give  special  expert  treat- 
ment to  particular  classes  of  defectives.  Little  educational 
opportunity  worthy  of  the  name  is  afforded.  While  able- 
bodied  inmates  usually  have  some  work  to  do,  it  is  seldom 
of  a  character  to  train  for  self-support  or  to  create  habits  of 
industry. 

To  provide  this  special  treatment  requires  elaborate  equip- 
ment and  expert  service,  which  cost  a  great  deal  of  money, 
Remedies  more  than  most  counties  or  towns  feel  that  they 
proposed  can  afiford.     Communities  must  come  to  realize  that 

they  cannot  afford  to  neglect  their  unfortunate  members,  no 
matter  what  it  costs  to  care  for  them.  But  the  cost  need  not 
be  so  great  as  it  seems.  A  great  deal  of  money  is  now  wasted 
on  almshouses  without  adequate  results.  This  can  largely  be 
remedied  by  insisting  upon  more  expert  supervision  in  such 
institutions,  and  by  a  system  of  regular  inspection  by  expert 
state  officers.  Greater  care  should  be  exercised  with  respect 
to  those  who  are  admitted  to  the  institutions.  Only  the  de- 
serving should  be  allowed  to  live  on  the  public  funds.     It  is 


DEPENDENT   MEMBERS   OF  THE   COMMUNITY       353 

not  uncommon  for  some  classes  of  shiftless  people  to  make 
a  practice  of  seeking  shelter  in  the  almshouse  during  the 
winter,  where  they  live  in  comparative  comfort  and  idleness 
at  the  public  expense,  only  to  leave  in  the  spring  for  a  life 
of  aimless  indolence,  imposing  as  beggars  upon  kind-hearted 
people. 

Moreover,  the  county  almshouse  should  be  only  a  temporary 
place  of  detention  for  many  of  the  people  who  now  are  kept 
there  permanently.     Those  who  need  special  treat-   p^^  ^^^  ^^ 
ment  or  training  should  be  passed  on  as  quickly   state  in- 
as  possible  to  special  institutions  that  are  equipped   stitutions 
to  care  for  them.     Since  most  local  communities  could  not  well 
afford  to  maintain  such  special  institutions  for  the  compara- 
tively few  who  would  need  them,  the  state  should  maintain 
enough  of  them  at  central  points  to  provide  for  the  needs  of  all 
local  communities. 

The  states  do  maintain  such  institutions  —  hospitals  and 
sanitariums  for  various  types  of  mental  disease,  homes  for 
orphans  and  for  the  aged,  and  for  persons  with  incurable  dis- 
eases, asylums  and  schoqls  for  the" blind  and  the  deaf-and-dumb, 
industrial  schools  for  boys  and  girls.  The  problem  of  the  state 
is,  first,  to  develop  such  institutions  to  the  highest  possible 
degree  of  efficiency  for  the  rehabilitation  of  their  patients  or 
inmates,  and,  second,  to  secure  effective  cooperation  on  the  part 
of  local  authorities  and  institutions  in  transferring  those,  and 
only  those,  who  are  entitled  to  state  assistance. 

When  dependents  are  cared  for  in  institutions,  it  is  called 
indoor  relief;   when  they  are  cared  for  outside  of  institutions, 
in  their  homes,  it  is  called  outdoor  relief.     Outdoor   cogperation 
relief   requires   community   organization   and   co-  for  ■  out- 
operation  and  expert  leadership  quite  as  much  as 
indoor  relief.     The  lack  of  these  has  often  resulted  in  great  harm 
both  to  the  community  and  to  the  needy  person.     Promiscuous 
giving  of   charity  by  well-intentioned  persons  often   results 


354  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

in  giving  to  the  undeserving  as  well  as  to  the  deserving.  There 
are  lazy  and  shiftless  individuals  who  find  it  easier  to  live  on 
charity  than  by  honest  work,  and  whose  lack  of  self-respect 
permits  them  to  do  so.  Sometimes  they  do  so  by  fraudulent 
methods.  Giving  to  such  persons  encourages  pauperism  and 
fraud  instead  of  curing  it.  Kind-hearted  people  often  say 
that  they  would  rather  be  cheated  occasionally  by  dishonest 
applicants  for  charity  than  to  fail  to  help  the  really  needy  by 
too  great  caution.  The  answer  to  this  is  that  by  proper  com- 
munity organization  and  cooperation  the  needy  will  be  found 
with  much  greater  certainty,  the  fraudulent  will  be  detected, 
and  the  aid  given  to  those  who  should  have  it  will  be  much  more 
effective.  The  citizen  who  turns  an  apphcant  for  aid  over  to 
an  effective  organization  in  a  great  majority  of  cases  performs 
a  much  greater  service  both  to  the  applicant  and  to  the  com- 
munity than  by  attempting  to  give  aid  directly.  A  few  pennies 
or  a  few  dollars  given  even  to  a  worthy  applicant  may  not  reach 
the  root  of  the  trouble  at  all,  and  may  be  the  innocent  cause  of 
perpetuating  the  trouble. 

Many  voluntary  organizations  exist  for  charitable  and  philan- 
thropic purposes.  The  church  has  always  been  one  of  the  chief 
Voluntary  agencies  to  care  for  the  poor  and  unfortunate; 
agencies  but  there  are  many  others,  especially  in  our  large 

cities.  Sometimes  they  maintain  hospitals  and  other  institu- 
tions for  the  treatment  of  those  who  need  indoor  relief.  They 
have  done  a  great  deal  of  good.  But  they  are  subject  to  the 
same  difficulties  that  individuals  encounter  in  dealing  wisely 
with  particular  cases.  They  have  often  devoted  themselves 
too  exclusively  to  giving  temporary  relief  instead  of  seeking 
to  cure  causes  and  to  rehabilitate  the  unfortunate.  They  are 
frequently  deceived  by  impostors.  Seldom  do  they  have 
expert  investigators  to  follow  up  individual  cases  and  to  pre- 
scribe the  most  effective  remedy.  They  frequently  duplicate 
one  another's  work  in  a  wasteful  manner. 


DEPENDENT   MEMBERS   OF  THE   COMMUNITY       355 

This  lack  of  team  work  has  been  in  large  measure  remedied, 
especially  in  city  communities,  by  the  establishment  of  charity 
organization  societies.  Such  societies  do  not  as  a  rule  charity  or- 
give  direct  relief,  but  act  as  a  "clearing  house"  for  ganization 
existing  charitable  agencies  in  the  community.  That  is,  they  or- 
ganize the  effort  of  the  various  existing  agencies.  They  have 
a  corps  of  trained  investigators  who  look  into  each  case  reported 
by  any  individual  or  charitable  agency  in  the  community,  make 
a  careful  record  of  it,  and  prescribe  the  proper  treatment.  The 
case  is  usually  turned  over  to  one  of  the  existing  agencies  that  is 
properly  equipped  to  handle  it.  Philanthropic  persons  may 
turn  to  the  charity  organization  society  for  advice  as  to  purposes 
for  which  money  is  most  needed.  The  aim  of  charity  organi- 
zation is  to  remedy  causes  of  dependency  and  to  restore  de- 
pendents to  a  self-sustaining  basis  so  far  as  that  is  possible. 

Charity  organization  societies  are  wholly  voluntary  organiza- 
tions ;  and  there  is  need  for  such  voluntary  cooperation  to  care 

for  the  community's  unfortunate  and  to  root  out   ^ 

.       .  Governmental 

the    causes    of    dependency,     buch    organizations   organization 

should,  however,  work  in  cooperation  with  govern-  ^°l  p?'"' 

,  .  _,  1  1  r    relief 

mental    agencies.     There    are    state    boards    01 

charities  which  usually  have  supervision  over  the  various  state 
institutions  for  dependents  and  defectives.  Every  large  city 
government  has  its  department  of  charities,  sometimes  com- 
bined with  the  department  of  health.  The  "overseer  of  the 
poor"  is  one  of  the  oldest  of  town  officers.  The  care  of  de- 
pendents and  defectives  in  small,  or  rural,  communities  has, 
however,  been  very  poorly  organized. 

An  effective  attack  upon  the  public  welfare  problems  of  a   Relation 
state  is  twofold  :  (i)  by  a  state  welfare  board  and  state  wel-    between  state 
fare  institutions,  and  (2)  by  town  and  county  welfare  boards    and  local 
and  institutions organization 

Public  welfare  work  calls  for  a  state  board  of  public  welfare,  statewide 
in  authority  .  .  .  and  for  state  institutions  that  are  large  enough  to  care 


356  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

for  the  delinquents,  the  dependents,  the  defectives,  and  the  neglected  who 
cannot  be  better  cared  for  by  local  authority  and  institutions.  .  .  , 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  calls  for  county  boards  of  public  welfare  with 
county-wide  authority  and  trained  executive  secretaries.  .  .  .  Many  of 
our  ills  bulk  up  so  big  that  they  can  be  successfully  attacked  only  in  detail 
by  local  interest,  local  effort,  and  local  institutions.  Tuberculosis  and 
poverty  are  capital  instances  of  social  problems  that  are  beyond  the  possi- 
bilities of  state  institutions,  and  that  necessarily  wait  upon  organized  county 
efforts  of  effective  sort.  .  .  .  We  do  not  know  the  deaf,  the  blind,  the 
feeble-minded,  the  epileptic,  the  crippled,  and  the  neglected  or  wayward 
boys  and  girls  ^  their  number,  their  names,  and  their  residences  in  any 
county  of  the  state  .  .  .  because  there  is  at  present  no  local  organization 
charged  with  the  responsibihty  of  accounting  for  such  unfortunates.  .  .  } 

There  will  doubtless  always  be  some  dependent  and  defective 
members  of  the  community  for  whom   the  community  must 
care.     Their   number,   however,   may   be   greatly 
dependency      reduced  by  Creating  conditions  that  will  remove 
must  be  their  causes.     It  has  been  reported  from  many 

remov  localities,  for  example,  that  the  prohibition  of  the 

sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  has  resulted  in  the  emptying  of  the 
"work  houses"  which  communities  have  sustained  for  the  con- 
finement of  vagrants  and  persons  convicted  of  petty  misde- 
meanors. Much  dependency  has  resulted  from  the  crippling 
of  wage  earners  by  industrial  accidents  and  from  "industrial 
diseases"  arising  from  work  in  unwholesome  conditions.  These 
causes  may  be  removed  by  the  maintenance  of  wholesome 
working  conditions,  by  the  installation  of  safety  devices,  and 
by  the  exercise  of  greater  care  by  workers  and  employers.  The 
"  safety  first "  movement  strikes  at  the  root  of  much  dependency. 
Inability  to  read  signs  and  to  understand  instructions  on  the 
part  of  illiterate  and  foreign  workers  is  the  cause  of  many, 
accidents. 

1  E.  C.  Branson,  "  County  responsibility  for  public  welfare,"  in  the  North  Carolina 
Club  Year  Book,  1917-1918,  pp.  161,  162  (University  of  North  Carolina,  Chapel 
HiU,  N.  C). 


DEPENDENT   MEMBERS  OF  THE   COMMUNITY       357 

Some  states  have  passed  "employers'  liability  laws,"  designed 
to  hold  employers  responsible  for  accidents  resulting  from  failure 
to  provide  safe  working  conditions.  Others  have  social  in- 
" workmen's  compensation  laws"  which  provide  surance 
that  an  injured  workman  shall  receive  a  portion  of  his  wages 
during  incapacity  from  accident  or  illness.  In  some  countries 
various  forms  of  compulsory  state  insurance  have  been  adopted. 
Germany,  for  example,  has  long  had  laws  requiring  employees 
to  take  out  accident  insurance  and  insurance  against  sickness, 
both  employees  and  employers  contributing  to  the  insurance 
fund.  Pensions  for  the  aged  and  for  widows  are  also  provided 
for,  the  government  itself  contributing  to  the  fund  for  this 
purpose.  At  the  close  of  the  year  1919,  39  of  our  48  states 
had  laws  providing  for  aid  by  the  state  to  mothers  who  were 
unable  to  provide  properly  for  their  children. 

The  aim  in  our  community  life  should  be  as  far  as  possible 
to  prevent  dependency  and  not  merely  to  relieve  suffering  after 
it  occurs.  We  shall  find  that  the  problem  will  tend  to  disappear 
in  proportion  as  we  develop  in  our  communities  adequate  pro- 
vision for  health  protection  and  physical  development  (Chap- 
ter XX),  for  vocational  and  general  education  (Chapter  XIX), 
for  wholesome  recreation  (Chapter  XXI),  for  the  cultivation 
of  habits  of  thrift  (Chapter  XIII) ;  and  as  we  are  successful  in 
producing  a  right  attitude  toward  the  problem  of  earning  a 
living  and  wholesome  relations  between  employer  and  employee 
(Chapter  XI). 

Investigate  and  report  on : 

The  rehabilitation  of  crippled  soldiers  after  the  war. 

Your  county  or  town  almshouse  or  poor  farm :  The  kinds  of  cases  shel- 
tered there;  its  cost  to  the  community;  the  methods  of  treatment  em- 
ployed. 

Other  local  institutions  for  indoor  relief  in  your  community. 

State  institutions  for  the  care  of  dependents  and  defectives  in  your  state. 
Their  kinds  and  location. 

The  difference  between  "poverty"  and  "pauperism." 


358  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

The  extent  and  kind  of  "charity  work"  done  by  the  church  which  you 
attend  (get  accurate  information). 

The  voluntary  organizations  of  your  community  that  give  "poor  relief." 
The  kind  of  charitable  work  done  by  each. 

Charity  organization  in  your  community.     Its  results  and  the  need  for  it. 

The  causes  of  dependence  in  your  community. 

The  extent  to  which  voluntary  charitable  work  in  your  community  is 
directed  to  removing  the  causes  of  dependency. 

The  organization  of  your  county  or  town  government  for  the  care  of 
dependents  and  defectives. 

Employers'  liability  laws,  workmen's  compensation  laws,  mothers'  pen- 
sion laws,  in  your  state. 

It  is  said  that  there  are  at  least  250,000  people  in  the  United 
States  who  make  their  living  by  crime,  and  there  are  many 
The  criminal  niore  who  commit  crime  on  occasion.  It  is  said, 
class  also,  that  to  support  and  control  this  criminal  class 

costs  the  people  of  the  United  States  not  less  than  $600,000,000 
per  annum,  or  as  much  as  is  expended  for  the  entire  educational 
system  of  the  country. 

Crime  is  the  violation  of  law.  The  criminal  is  a  member  of 
the  cormnunity  who  refuses  to  cooperate  with  others  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  law.  The  conduct  of  an  in- 
dividual may  be  wrong  and  harmful  to  the  com- 
munity without  being  criminal ;  it  becomes  criminal  only  when 
the  law  actually  forbids  it.  A  given  act  may  be  a  crime  in  one 
state  and  not  in  another  state,  because  the  laws  of  the  states 
differ  in  their  definition  of  crimes.  They  also  differ  in  the 
penalties  imposed  for  the  salfne  crime. 

The  methods  of  dealing  with  criminals  have  changed  greatly 
with  the  progress  of  civilization,  and  especially  in  recent  years 
since  the  causes  of  crime  have  become  better  under- 
methods  of       stood.     In   the   earlier   methods   two   ideas  were 
treating  prominent :    the  infliction  of  punishment,  and  the 

deterrence  of  others  from  committing  the  same 
offense.     The  penalties  inflicted  were   therefore   very  severe. 


DEPENDENT  MEMBERS   OF  THE   COMMUNITY       359 

The  death  penalty  was  inflicted  not  only  for  taking  human  life, 
but  also  for  minor  offenses,  such  as  stealing.  Even  in  our  own 
country  in  colonial  times  bodily  mutilation  was  not  uncommon, 
such  as  branding  with  a  hot  iron,  or  cutting  off  the  ears.  Prisons 
were  vile  and  loathsome  places. 

Humane  feelings  have  caused  the  abandonment  of  such 
treatment.  The  death  penalty  still  remains  for  the  worst  of 
crimes;  but  even  it  has  become  more  humane  in  Rehabilitation 
its  methods.  Many  believe  that  it  should  be  en-  »*  criminals 
tirely  abandoned.  The  eighth  amendment  to  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  says  that  "excessive  bail  shall  not  be  re- 
quired, nor  excessive  fines  imposed,  nor  cruel  and  unusual 
punishments  inflicted."  Moreover,  a  new  idea  has  entered  into 
the  matter.  It  is  the  same  idea  that  controls  the  modern  treat- 
ment of  dependents,  namely,  that  of  rehabilitating  the  criminal. 
It  is  now  recognized  that  crime  results  in  most  cases  from  dis- 
eased conditions  either  in  the  individual  or  in  the  community. 
Some  individuals  commit  crime  merely  because  it  seems  to 
them  the  easiest  way  to  make  a  living  or  to  gain  some  other  end ; 
but  even  such  individuals  are  morally  diseased.  Much  crime  is 
due  to  temporary  mental  disturbance,  as  from  the  use  of  in- 
toxicants or  other  drugs.  Sometimes  it  is  the  act  of  persons 
who  are  actually  insane  or  feeble-minded.  Very  often  it  is 
committed  under  pressure  of  poverty. 

In  view  of  these  facts,  while  the  deliberate  violator  of  law 
should  doubtless  be  punished,  it  is  even  more  important  that 
the  causes  of  crime  should  be  removed,  and  that  the  criminal 
should,  in  as  many  cases  as  possible,  be  restored  to  a  useful 
and  an  honest  manner  of  life.  The  proper  treatment  of  de- 
pendents and  defectives,  and  the  removal  of  causes  of  de- 
pendency and  defectiveness,  are  essential  steps  toward  the 
lessening  of  crime. 

The  county  jail  and  the  town  "lock-up"  are  the  usual  local 
institutions  where  persons  suspected  of  having  violated  the 


360  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

law  are  detained  while  awaiting  trial  in  the  courts,  and  also 
where  those  convicted  of  petty  misdemeanors  are  imprisoned 
The  local  for   punishment.      The   jail    and    the    "lock-up" 

jail  are   as   notorious  as  the  almshouse   (p.   352)   for 

unwholesome  conditions  and  mismanagement,  though  condi- 
tions have  greatly  improved  under  the  influence  of  an  awakened 
public  opinion.  They  have  often  been  unsanitary  in  the  ex- 
treme. Prisoners  have  often  been  treated  more  like  cattle 
than  like  human  beings.  Young  and  old  are  thrown  together, 
the  hardened  criminal  with  the  youthful  "first  offender,"  and 
with  those  merely  suspected  of  crime,  many  of  whom  will  be 
proved  to  be  innocent.  The  result  is  demoralizing.  Our  jails 
have  sometimes  been  said  to  be  "schools  of  vice  and  crime." 

Two  reforms,  at  least,  are  needed  in  local  jails.  First,  they 
should  be  made  as  wholesome  as  possible,  both  physically 
Needed  re-  ^^^  morally.  They  should  be  perfectly  sanitary, 
form  of  the  and  the  food  should  at  least  be  clean  and  nourish- 
^*'^  ing.     Arrangements  should  be  made  to  keep  the 

different  classes  of  inmates  separate,  especially  the  hardened 
and  vicious  criminals  from  youthful  transgressors  and  suspects. 
In  the  second  place,  the  local  jail  should  be  merely  a  place  of 
detention  for  those  awaiting  trial  or,  after  trial,  transfer  to  other 
institutions.  Those  found  guilty  by  the  courts  should  be  trans- 
ferred as  quickly  as  possible  to  institutions  where  they  may  re- 
ceive treatment  fitted  to  their  needs. 

Of  three  persons  who  steal  ten  dollars,  one  may  be  a  deliberate 
thief  who  prefers  to  make  his  living  this  way ;  another  may  be 
Fittin  the  driven  by  hunger ;  and  the  third  may  be  mentally 
treatment  to  unbalanced.  It  is  obvious  that  the  treatment  ac- 
the  offender  corded  to  each  should  be  determined  by  these  facts 
rather  than  by  the  mere  amount  of  the  theft.  The  first  doubt- 
less needs  punishment;  but  he  should  also  have  treatment 
designed  to  change  his  attitude  toward  the  community  and  to 
fit  him  to  make  an  honest  living.     The  second  needs  to  be  re- 


DEPENDENT  MEMBERS  OF  THE   COMMUNITY        361 

lieved  of  his  want  and  to  be  given  an  opportunity  for  self- 
support.  The  third  needs  hospital  treatment.  We  are  only 
beginning  to  see  that  punishment  is  only  a  part  of  the  treatment 
necessary,  and  that  the  treatment  should  be  made  to  fit  the 
criminal  fully  as  much  as  to  fit  the  crime. 

Proper  treatment  for  all  the  various  classes  of  cases  cannot 
well  be  given  in  the  county  jail ;   nor  can  the  local  community 
as  a  rule  afford  to  maintain  separate  institutions  g^^^^  institu- 
for  them,  as  the  number  in  each  class  is  very  small   tions  for 
in  a  given  community.     Hence  the  necessity  for     ^  »nquen  s 
state  institutions  to  which  those  convicted  in  the  local  courts 
may  be  sent.     Such  institutions  exist,   although   not   always 
adequate  to  the  needs  of  the  state.     They  include  state  peni- 
tentiaries, reform  and  industrial  schools,  hospitals  for  the  insane, 
special  schools  for  the  feeble-minded,  and  others.     These  in- 
stitutions  have   been   steadily   improving   in   their   efficiency. 
The  greater  difficulty  seems  to  be  in  the  local  communities,  in 
securing  the  assignment  of  offenders  to  the  proper  institutions. 

Great  changes  have  occurred  in  recent  years  in  the  methods 
of  administering  state  penitentiaries,  especially  in  some  states. 
Under  old  conditions  convicts  were  either  confined  Administra- 
in  isolation  and  idleness  or  condemned  to  hard  tion  of  state 
labor,  punishment  being  the  sole  idea  in  both  P"^°°^ 
cases.  The  most  rigid  and  arbitrary  discipline  was  enforced. 
Modern  penitentiaries  keep  prisoners  employed  in  occupations 
that  are  of  use  to  the  state,  that  are  designed  to  train  the 
prisoner  for  useful  service,  and  that  yield  him  some  compensa- 
tion that  will  help  to  make  him  self-supporting  when  he  leaves. 
They  also  maintain  schools  for  the  instruction  of  prisoners  in 
at  least  the  common  branches  of  knowledge  and  in  vocational 
subjects.  Great  care  is  taken  of  the  health.  In  some  cases 
the  prisoners  are  graded  according  to  their  conduct  and  their 
ability  to  assume  responsibility,  certain  privileges  and  freedom 
and  participation  in  the  administration  of  the  prison  being 


362  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

bestowed  upon  them  so  long  as  they  show  a  sense  of  their  re- 
sponsibility. The  period  of  imprisonment  may  be  shortened 
as  a  reward  for  good  conduct. 

One  of  the  most  important  reforms  that  have  been  made  is 
that  in  the  treatment  of  juvenile  offenders.  The  main  feature 
Juvenile  of  this  is  the  establishment  of  a  juvenile  court,  where 

offenders  |^hg  usual  procedure  and  publicity  of  a  criminal 

court  are  avoided,  and  where  the  judge  takes  a  fatherly  atti- 
tude toward  the  accused.  Each  case  is  carefully  investigated 
to  discover  the  cause  of  trouble  and  to  arrive  at  a  wise  con- 
clusion as  to  the  treatment  to  be  given.  In  the  case  of  first 
offenders,  or  where  other  conditions  justify  it,  the  prisoner  is 
released  on  probation.  That  is,  he  is  given  his  freedom  on  his 
honor,  but  under  the  supervision  of  a  probation  officer  to  whom 
he  must  report  at  regular  intervals.  In  the  case  of  more  serious 
offenses,  or  of  repeated  wrong-doing,  or  of  violation  of  parole, 
offenders  are  sent  to  reform  schools  or  industrial  schools.  The 
entire  effort  is  to  set  the  young  offender  on  the  right  road  to 
honest  self-support  and  good  citizenship.  Unfortunately,  how- 
ever, this  machinery  for  the  treatment  of  juvenile  delinquency  is 
so  far  found  almost  exclusively  in  cities.  The  problem  of 
juvenile  delinquency  in  rural  communities  is  one  that  requires 
more  attention  than  has  been  given  to  it.  It  is  a  problem  that 
the  young  citizen  himself  can  greatly  help  to  solve  by  the  culti- 
vation, in  himself  and  in  his  friends,  of  right  conceptions  of 
citizenship. 

Investigate  and  report  on  the  following : 

The  organization  of  your  county  and  town  governments  to  protect  per- 
sons and  property  against  criminals,  to  apprehend  law  violators,  and  to  bring 
them  to  justice. 

The  cost  to  your  county  or  town  of  this  organization. 

The  desirability  or  undesirabiHty  of  differing  definitions  of  crime  in  dif- 
ferent states,  and  of  different  punishments  for  the  same  crime. 

The  efl&cacy  of  severe  punishments  in  preventing  crime. 

Should  capital  punishment  be  abolished  ? 


DEPENDENT   MEMBERS  OF  THE   COMMUNITY        363 

The  meaning  of  "bail,"  and  why  it  is  provided  for. 

The  effect  of  prohibition  upon  the  amount  of  crime  in  your  community. 

The  number  of  prisoners  confined  in  your  county  jail  during  the  past 
year,  why  they  were  there,  and  what  it  cost  to  keep  them. 

The  meaning  of  "fitting  punishment  to  the  criminal  rather  than  to  the 
crime." 

The  treatment  of  prisoners  in  your  state  penitentiary. 

The  method  of  dealing  with  juvenile  offenders  in  your  community. 

The  meaning  of  "probation";  of  "parole";  of  an  "indeterminate  sen- 
tence." 

The  extent  of  juvenile  delinquency  in  your  community ;  its  causes. 

The  use  of  convict  labor  outside  of  prisons. 

READINGS 

• 

Reports  of  county  and  town  authorities. 

Reports  of  state  board  of  charities  and  of  administrative  boards  of  state  institu- 
tions. 

Publications  of  the  Children's  Bureau,  U.  S.  Department  of  Labor.     Send  for 
list  from  which  to  select.     Two  valuable  publications  of  this  Bureau  are : 
Bureau  Publication  No.  32,  "Juvenile  Delinquency  in  Rural  New  York." 
Bureau  Publication  No.   60,    "Standards   of   Child   Welfare."     This  contains 
among  other  valuable  material,  discussions  of  child  labor  and  legislation  re- 
lating to  it,  of  the  care  of  dependent  and  defective  children,  and  of  juvenile 
delinquency. 
In  Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 

Series  A  :   Lesson    5,  The  human  resources  of  a  community. 

Lesson  28,  The  worker  in  our  society. 
Series  C :    Lesson    8,  Preventing  waste  of  human  beings. 
Lesson  20,  The  family  and  social  control. 
Lesson  30,  Social  insurance. 
The  following  are  a  few  good  books  relating  to  the  topics  of  this  chapter : 
Burch,  H.  R.,  and  Patterson,  S.  H.,  American  Social  Problems,  chaps,  xvi-xx 

(Macmillan). 
Henderson,  C.  R.,  Dependents,  Defectives,  and  Delinquents. 
Warner,  A.  G.,  American  Charities. 
Devine,  E.  T.,  Principles  of  Relief. 

Addams,  Jane,  Twenty  Years  at  Hull  House,  and  The  House  on  Henry  Street. 
EUwood,  C.  A.,  Sociology  and  Modern  Social  Problems. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

TEAM  WORK  IN  TAXATION 

People  have  never  liked  to  pay  taxes.     Their  repugnance  to 

it  is  largely  a  survival  of  the  times  when  an  autocratic  ruling 

class  imposed  taxes  upon  the  people  for  its  own 
The  dislike  ,r   ^  o  i-         r         T       u 

of  the  semsn  purposes,     btrugglmg  lor  the   bare  neces- 

peopie  for         sities  of  life,  the  people  had  to  pay  the  bill^  of  the 

ruling  class  who  lived  in  luxury.     The  long  struggle 

for  liberty  in  England  and  in  the  English  colonies  was  a  struggle 

against  the  power  of  rulers  to  impose  taxes  without  the  consent 

of  the  people.     The  habit   of  mind  with  respect  to   taxation 

formed    under    such  conditions  has  to  a  considerable  extent 

persisted  into  the  present,  when  conditions  are  very  different. 

The  change  to  government  "of  the  people,  by  the  people,  for 

the  people  "  should  put  the  paying  of  taxes  in  a  very  different 

hght.     We  decide  upon  a  service  we  want  per- 

tion  means  in  formed  for  US,  we  provide  the  governing  machinery 

a  democracy     ^^  perform  the  service,  and  the  service  must  be 

paid  for.     We  do  not  object  to  paying  for  having  our  house 

built,  our  food  provided,   our  clothes  made,  and  our  goods 

hauled.     Why  should  we  object  to  paying  for  the  service  of 

schools,  roads,  protection  of  health  and  property,  the  defense 

of  our  liberties? 

Such    objection    seems    especially    unreasonable    when    we 

consider  that  the  value  of  the  service  rendered  by  government 

The  returns      is,  as  a  rule,  far  in  excess  of  what  it  costs  the  in- 

from  taxation    dividual  citizen.     In  Chapter  XVII  we  saw  that  a 

Virginia  farmer,  the  value  of  whose  farm  was  assessed  at  $3000, 

was  taxed  $19.48  for  road  improvements.     In  return  for  this 

364 


TEAM  WORK  IN  TAXATION  365 

he  acquired  the  use  of  a  system  of  roads  throughout  the  county 
that  cost  at  least  $173,000.  This  local  system  connected  him 
with  the  transportation  system  of  the  entire  country,  gave 
him  a  market  for  his  produce,  greatly  increased  the  value  of 
his  land,  brought  better  school  facihties,  and  enriched  his  life 
in  many  ways. 

The  recent  war  imposed  an  unusually  heavy  burden  of 
taxation  upon  us.  But  when  we  think  of  the  millions  of  people 
who  paid  for  the  war  with  their  lives,  and  of  the  fact  that  the 
war  was  fought  for  the  most  precious  of  all  things,  —  human 
liberty,  —  the  money  tax  that  each  citizen  had  to  pay  in  some 
form  or  other  seems  very  insignificant. 

In  Chapter  IV  we  read  how  Benjamin  Franklin  secured  the 
services  of  a  man  to  keep  the  pavements  of  the  neighborhood 
clean  "for  the  sum  of  sixpence  per  month  to  be  ^ 
paid  by  each  house."  By  this  bit  of  cooperation,  team  work  in 
each  householder  was  relieved  of  a  burden,  and  *^^^^°" 
had  the  benefit  not  only  of  having  his  own  pavement  cleaned, 
but  also  of  knowing  that  those  of  all  his  neighbors  would  be 
equally  clean,  and  thus  of  having  a  pleasanter  neighborhood, 
and  the  cost  was  insignificant.  This  incident  illustrates  the 
underlying  principle  of  taxation  in  a  self-governing  community. 
The  poorest  citizen  is  made  rich  in  the  benefits  that  he  may 
enjoy,  while  the  cost  is  made  proportional  to  his  ability  to  pay. 

Like  the  rest  of  our  governing  machinery,  however,  our 
system  of  levying,  collecting,  and  paying  taxes  does  not  always 
work  perfectly,  and  there  is  more  or  less  ground  Misuse  of 
for  dissatisfaction  with  it.  In  the  first  place,  the  ^^^^^ 
people  do  not  always  get  full  value  for  their  taxes.  While  it 
is  true  that  the  farmer  receives,  in  return  for  his  road  tax, 
vastly  more  than  he  could  purchase  privately  with  the  same 
amount  of  money,  yet,  if  the  road  improvements  are  poorly 
made,  he  gets  less  than  he  should.  It  usually  costs  as  much  to 
employ  an  inefficient  road  supervisor,  or  school   teacher  or 


366  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

superintendent,  or  sherifif,  as  to  employ  an  efficient  one  —  in 

fact,  in  the  long  run  it  costs  more.     Sometimes  more  persons 

are  employed  in  government  offices  than  there  is  any  need  for, 

or  some  of  those  employed  are  shirkers,  or  otherwise  inefficient. 

There  is  wastefulness  in  the  methods  by  which  appropriations 

are  made  for  the  expenses  of  government  (see  pages  435,  468). 

Sometimes  there  is  "graft,"  by  which  public  money  is  diverted 

to  the  private  uses  of  officials,  contractors,  or  others. 

Such  abuses  as  these  are,  of  course,  not  faults  of  the  taxing 

system,  but  they  naturally  make  citizens  reluctant  to  pay  taxes. 

.  ,        People  want  to  know  that  their  money  is  spent 

A  cause  of  ^  . 

dissatisfac-  for  the  purposes  for  which  it  was  paid,  and  that 
*'°^  it   is   used   economically  and  effectively  for  these 

purposes.  Nothing  else  will  do  so  much  to  remove  the  dislike 
of  taxation  as  assurance  on  these  points.  As  Franklin  said 
with  reference  to  his  successful  experiment  in  street  cleaning, 
it  "raised  a  general  desire  to  have  all  the  streets  paved,  and 
made  the  people  more  willing  to  submit  to  a  tax  for  that 
purpose." 

A  system  of  taxation  must  he  just  if  it  is  to  meet  with  popular 
approval.  It  is  not  easy,  nor  indeed  possible,  to  devise  a 
Taxation  system  that  works  with  absolute  justice  in  every 

must  be  just  case,  for  the  assessment  of  taxes  is  a  complicated 
process,  and  reliance  must  be  placed  to  a  considerable  extent 
upon  the  honesty  and  conscientiousness  of  individual  citizens. 
The  people  are  satisfied,  however,  if  they  see  that  every  reason- 
able effort  is  made  to  secure  justice. 

The  first  essential  in  a  just  system  is  that  every  citizen  shall 
hear  his  share  of  the  burden.  Therefore  the  paying  of  taxes 
is  compulsory  by  law.  It  is  also  just  that  each  citizen  shall 
pay  only  in  proportion  to  his  ability.  These  two  principles  of 
taxation  are  similar  to  those  applied  in  the  selective  draft  for 
war  service  (see  page  80).  It  is  in  assessing  taxes  according 
to  ability  to  pay  that  one  of  the  principal  difficulties  appears. 


TEAM   WORK   IN  TAXATION  367 

But    an   effort   has   been   made   to   do   this  by  the  following 

procedure. 

It  is  first  necessary  to  know  how  much  money  will  be  needed 

by  the  government.     Each  year,  therefore,  the  heads  of  the 

various  branches  and  departments  of  government   _ 

1  •  ,  J  How  the 

make  an  estimate  for  the  commg  year,  based  on  amount  to  be 

their  knowledge  of  past  expenditures  and  present  raised  is 

^  1  •  1  determined 

and  future  needs.     Such  estimate  can  be  made 

intelligently  only  when  there  is  an  accurate  and  businesslike 
system  of  keeping  accounts  and  records,  and  a  well-planned 
budget  system  (see  Chapter  XIII,  page  174).  Unbusiness- 
like methods  of  keeping  accounts  and  the  lack  of  a  budget 
system  have  been  among  the  chief  weaknesses  of  our  govern- 
ments, equally  characteristic  of  local,  state,  and  national  govern- 
ments. Efforts  are  being  made  to  remedy  these  defects  and 
are  described  in  Chapters  XXV,  XXVI,  and  XXVII  (pages 
399,  436,  and  470). 

The  second  thing  to  be  ascertained  is  the  ability  of  each 
citizen  to  pay.     In  some  states  a  uniform  poll  tax  is  assessed 

upon  every  adult  citizen.     This  is  a  tax  upon  the 

'Pflxcs  on 
person  and  usually  amounts  to  about  two  dollars,   persons, 

Only  those  are  exempt  who  are  incapable  of  self-  property,  and 

_         1        1  •   f      T  •  privileges 

support.     But  the  chief  reliance  is  upon  a  property 

tax.  State  and  local  governments  depend  principally  upon 
a  general  property  tax,  for  which  purpose  property  is  divided 
into  two  kinds :  real  estate,  which  includes  land  and  buildings, 
and  personal  property,  which  includes  furniture,  tools,  livestock, 
money,  and  valuables  of  various  kinds.  In  addition  to  the 
general  property  tax  there  may  be  taxes  upon  incomes  and  upon 
inheritances.  There  are  also  license  taxes,  such  as  dog  and 
automobile  licenses.  Finally  there  are  taxes  upon  certain 
privileges  which  are  bestowed  upon  the  individual  by  the  com- 
munity and  have  a  money  value.  Of  such  a  nature  is  the 
license  tax  imposed  upon  a  peddler  or  upon  a  person  who  main- 


368  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

tains  a  market  stand  on  the  public  street.  Such,  also,  are  the 
taxes  placed  upon  corporations  for  the  privilege  of  using  the 
public  highways  for  car  tracks,  water  mains,  or  telephone 
poles. 

It  is  necessary,  therefore,  for  the  government  to  assess  the 
value  of  the  property  (or  privilege)  of  each  citizen,  and  it  has 
its  organization  for  this  purpose.  Each  local  community 
-,,  (township,  county,  or  city)  has  one  or  more  tax 

ment  of  assessors,  who  endeavor  to  ascertain  by  inquiry 

^^  "^^  or  inspection  the  value  of  each  citizen's  property. 

The  sum  of  the  individual  assessments  constitutes  the  assess- 
ment valuation  for  the  town,  or  county,  or  city ;  and  the  sum 
of  the  valuations  of  these  local  communities  constitutes  the 
valuation  for  the  entire  state. 

The  third  step  is  to  ascertain  the  rate  of  taxation.  This  is 
found  by  dividing  the  total  amount  to  be  raised  by  taxation 
The  rate  of  by  the  total  property  valuation  of  the  county  or 
taxation  state,  as  the  case  may  be.     If  the  amount  to  be 

raised  is  $500,000,  and  the  property  valuation  is  $10,000,000, 
the  rate  would  be  5  per  cent,  and  the  tax  is  levied  against  each 
citizen  at  this  rate.  A  citizen  who  owns  twice  as  much  property 
as  another  should  pay  twice  as  much  tax.  Each  should  pay 
according  to  his  ability. 

This  seems  like  a  simple  procedure;  but  it  is  very  difficult 
to  get  a  just  result.     The  difficulty  lies  chiefly  in  the  assess- 

._  .  J  ment.  It  requires  a  good  deal  of  intelligence  to 
just  assess-  assess  property  fairly,  even  with  the  best  of  in- 
™®"^  tentions.     Assessors    are    not    always    competent. 

Two  assessors  may  differ  in  their  judgment,  so  that  assessments 
in  one  part  of  the  community  may  run  at  a  lower  level  than  in 
another  part.  Thus  assessments  vary  in  their  fairness  in 
different  townships  of  the  same  county,  and  in  different  counties 
of  the  same  state.  An  attempt  is  made  to  avoid  this  by  means 
of  county  and  state  tax  equalization  boards,  which  seek  to  adjust 


TEAM  WORK  IN  TAXATION  369 

diflferences  of  this  sort.     But  their  efiforts  are  only  partially 
successful. 

Property  owners  are  themselves,  however,  more  responsible 
than  anyone  else  for  the  inequities  of  taxation  in  our  country. 
It  is  a  common  practice  of  tax  assessors  to  accept 

Responsi- 
the  property  owner  s  own  statement  of  the  vaiu-  biiity  of 

ation  of  his  property.     In  an  astonishingly  large  property 

proportion  of  cases  he  gives  a  valuation  far  below 

the  real  one.     Even  when  the  assessor  inspects  the  property, 

it  is  easy  to  conceal  from  his  eyes  certain  forms  of  personal 

property,  such  as  money,  stocks  and  bonds,  and  jewelry.     Land 

and  livestock  cannot  be  concealed*;   and  for  this  reason  farmers 

are  likely  to  pay  a  heavier  share  of  taxes  than  others  whose 

property  is  in  less  conspicuous  forms.     But  they  may  make 

false  valuations. 

In  one  state,  where  the  law  requires  the  assessment  of  real  estate  "at 
its  true  value  in  money  when  sold  in  the  ordinary  manner  of  sale,"  a  study 
in  one  township  showed  that  "the  average  tax  value  of  farm   illustrations 
land  in  the  open  country  ...  is  $7.89,  while  the  average    of  unjust 
market  value  runs  around  $20.     The  73  largest  taxpayers    assessments 
give  in   their  farm  holdings  at   values  ranging  from  $6  to  $20  an  acre. 
Thus  the  burden  of  state  and  county   support  falls  three  or  four  times  as 
heavily  on  one  acre  of  farm  land  as  on  another  —  on  farms  lying  side  by  side. 

"  When  we  look  at  suburban  farm  land  the  tax  values  range  from  $1 7  to 
$2220  an  acre. 

"But  the  most  amazing  'jokes'  appear  in  the  values  put  by  their  owners 
on  improved  town  lots.  In  the  same  end  of  the  town  we  found  three  hand- 
some town  properties  worth  around  $15,000  each;  the  tax  values  were 
$550,  $4400,  $4950.  In  another  neighborhood,  two  adjoining  homes 
about  equal  in  value  were  listed  at  $500  and  $3400;  one  at  about  50  per 
cent  and  the  other  at  about  8  per  cent  of  the  actual  value." 

With  regard  to  personal  property  in  the  same  township,  "the  wealthiest 
private  taxpayer  in  the  township  lists  household  goods  and  utensils,  work- 
stock,  vehicles,  money,  jewelry  .  .  .  at  $216.  The  next  wealthiest  private 
taxpayer  covers  all  these  properties  with  $105.  He's  a  farmer  and  well- 
to-do,  but  his  household  furniture,  farm  animals,  vehicles,  implements, 
and  the  like,  are  worth  only  $105  —  on  the  tax  list. 


370  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

"  Another  large  landowner  covers  his  household  goods,  farm  animals, 
vehicles,  and  the  like,  with  $82;  another  with  $457,  and  another  with 
$2272.  The  differences  lie  not  so  much  in  the  properties  as  in  the  con- 
sciences of  these  big  landlords."  ^ 

Such  inequalities  as  these  may  be  found  in  almost  every  tax 
list  in  any  community.  One  of  the  strange  things  about  it  is 
Public  and  ^^^^  citizens  evade  taxation  who  vi^ould  not  think 
private  of  being  dishonest  or  unfair  in  a  private  business 

onesty  transaction.     The  reason  is  not   easy   to   under- 

stand. Doubtless  it  is  partly  due  to  the  feeling  that  as  long 
as  "everybody  does  it"  it  is  justifiable.  Of  course  this  is  not 
true.  One  taxpayer  is  reported  as  saying,  "I  feel  dog-mean 
whenever  I  give  in  my  taxes ;  but  I'm  doing  as  well  as  the  rest 
and  a  little  better  than  most." 

Dishonest  returns  by  one  taxpayer  defraud  the  citizen  who 
is  honest,  because  they  place  a  heavier  burden  of  taxation  upon 
„     .  the    latter.     Moreover,    the    dishonest    taxpayer 

Good  sense  '  ^   •' 

and  good  cheats  himself  along  with  others,  for  the  lower  the 

business  valuation  of  property,  the  higher  the  rate  of  taxa- 

tion, or  the  poorer  the  service  received  from  the  government. 
"It  is  good  sense  and  good  business  for  a  state  to  show  up  with 
large  tax  values  and  low  tax  rates.  It  shows  a  brisk  and  lively 
prosperity  that  is  attractive  to  outside  capital  and  enterprise."  ^ 
To  secure  fairer  taxation  and  better  returns  from  taxation 
there  is  need  of  improvement  in  the  organization  for  tax  assess- 
....    ^  ment  and  tax  equalization.     It  is  especially  im- 

and  publicity  portant  to  make  it  more  difficult  for  the  "tax 
needed  dodger"    to   evade   his   responsibility.     It   would 

seem,  however,  that  there  would  be  fewer  "tax  dodgers"  if 
the  people  once  got  "the  right  idea"  of  what  taxation  really 
means  in  a   democracy   (see  page   51).     Great   improvement 

•  E.  C.  Branson,  A  Township  Tax-List  Study;  in  North  Carolina  Club  Year 
Book,  1917-1918,  pp.  66,  67  (The  University  of  North  Carolina  Extension  Series 
No.  30). 

2  E.  C.  Branson,  A  Township  Tax-List  Study. 


TEAM  WORK  IN  TAXATION  371 

would  doubtless  result,  even  under  present  conditions,  if  honest 
citizens  would  take  more  interest  in  the  results  of  assessments 
as  shown  in  the  tax  lists.  The  writer  quoted  in  the  paragraphs 
above  asserts  that,  next  to  the  Bible,  "the  most  important 
book  in  any  county  is  the  Tax  List,  and  it  is  the  one  book  that 
the  people  in  general  know  least  about." 

Everybody  knows  in  a  vague,  general  way  that  something  is  wrong 
with  our  tax  system  .  .  .  but  what  everybody  does  not  know  is  what  the 
facts  are  in  concrete,  accurate  detail.  There  is  no  cure  Uke  pubHcity  for 
wrongs  in  a  democracy.  Give  the  folks  the  facts,  whatever  they  are,  and  the 
folks  will  do  the  rest.  .  .  .  But  at  present  nobody  knows  the  facts.  That 
is  to  say,  nobody  but  the  tax  listers,  the  registers,  and  the  sheriffs.  And 
they  are  dumb  because  their  official  lives  depend  on  silence.' 

Investigate  and  report  on  the  following : 

Do  people  of  your  acquaintance  like  to  pay  taxes?  What  reasons 
do  they  give  ? 

The  cost  of  your  town  government,  your  county  government,  and  your 
state  government  per  year. 

The  purposes  for  which  most  money  is  spent  by  your  town  government, 
your  county  government,  and  your  state  government. 

The  assessed  valuation  of  property  in  your  town,  county,  state. 

Does  the  law  in  your  state  require  that  property  shall  be  assessed  at  its 
full  market  value?     If  not,  at  what  part  of  its  market  value? 

The  tax  rate  in  your  county.  Is  it  high  or  low?  Reasons  why  it  is 
high  or  low. 

The  tax  list  of  your  town. 

The  sources  of  revenue  in  your  county  and  state,  and  the  amount  raised 
from  each  source. 

The  work  of  a  tax  assessor  in  your  town. 

Where  taxes  are  paid  in  your  community. 

Who  has  charge  of  tax  collections  in  your  community? 

What  happens  to  a  citizen  in  your  community  who  fails  to  pay  his  taxes? 

The  difference  between  "assessing"  and  "levying"  taxes. 

Who  levies  the  taxes  in  your  town  ?  county  ?  state  ? 

Explain  the  statement  that  "large  tax  values  and  low  tax  rates  attract 
outside  capital  and  enterprise  "  (page  370). 

1  E.  C.  Branson,  A  Township  Tax-List  Study. 


372 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


We  have  been  speaking  so  far  of  taxation  for  the  purposes  of 
state  and  local  governments.  But  Congress  also  has  power 
.  ,  "  to  lay  and  collect  taxes  .  .  .  to  pay  the  debts  and 
the  national  provide  for  the  common  defense  and  general  wel- 
government  f ^^.^  ^f  ^^^  United  States ' '  (Constitution,  Art.  I,  sec. 
8,  clause  i).  State  and  local  governments  raise  most  of  their 
revenues  by  direct  taxation  upon  the  property  of  citizens.  The 
national  government,  on  the  other  hand,  has  always  rehed 
chiefly  upon  indirect  taxation.  Congress  levies  duties  on 
imports.  These  duties  are  paid  in  the  first  instance  by  the 
importer.  The  latter,  however,  adds  the  tax  to  the  price  of 
the  goods,  so  that  it  is  paid  finally  by  the  consumers  and  not 
by  the  importer.  In  a  similar  manner  Congress  levies  excise 
taxes,  which  are  taxes  upon  products  manufactured  in  this 
country.  The  principal  excise  taxes  have  been  those  levied  on 
alcoholic  liquors  and  tobacco.  But  here  again  the  tax  is  paid  by 
the  consumer  in  the  price  which  he  pays  for  the  liquor  or  tobacco. 

The  chief  advantage  of  indirect  taxes  is  the  ease  and  cer- 
tainty with  which  they  may  be  collected  by  the  government. 

The   citizen   pays   them   whenever   he   buys    the 
Advantages  ,  •      i      •    i       rr^i 

of  indirect        articles  on  which  the  tax  is  levied.     The   retail 

taxation  dealer  passes  them  on  to  the  wholesaler,  and  so 

finally  the  importer  is  reimbursed.     The  government  collects 

the  taxes  at  customs  houses  at  ports  of  entry,  or  at  the  tobacco 

factories  and,  formerly,  at  distilleries.     Prohibition  has  deprived 

the  government  of  one  of  its  chief  sources  of  revenue.     Indirect 

taxes  are  also  less  objectionable  to  the  people,  for  they  are 

seldom  conscious  of  paying  them  when  they  buy  goods  upon 

which  they  are  levied. 

Congress  has  the  power  to  levy  direct  as  well  as  indirect  taxes, 

but  it  has  usually  avoided  direct  taxation,  partly  for  the  reasons 

Federal  stated  above,  and  partly  because  the  Constitution 

income  tax        provides  that  "no  capitation  or  other  direct  tax 

shall  be  laid,  unless  in  proportion  to  the  census  or  enumeration 


TEAM  WORK  IN  TAXATION 


373 


hereinbefore  directed  to  be  taken";  that  is,  in  proportion  to 
population.  It  has  been  found  difficult  in  practice  to  make 
such  apportionment.  Various  attempts  by  Congress  to  levy 
a  direct  tax  on  incomes  have  been  declared  unconstitutional  by 
the  Supreme  Court  because  it  was  not  so  apportioned.  The 
Constitution  has  now  been  amended,  however,  to  give  Congress 
the  power  "to  lay  and  collect  taxes  on  incomes  from  whatever 
source    derived,    without   apportionment   among    the    several 


Copyright  Keystone  View  Co. 

Aliens  Filing  Income  Tax  Returns 
New  York  Custom  House. 

states,  and  without  regard  to  any  census  or  enumeration" 
(Amendment  XVI). 

A  large  revenue  is  now  derived  from  the  national  income 
tax.  The  law  at  first  exempted  from  it  single  persons  whose 
income  was  less  than  $3000,  and  married  persons  whose  income 
was  less  than  $4000.  As  a  result  of  the  war,  only  those  are 
now  exempt  whose  incomes  are  less  than  $1000,  if  single,  and 
$2000  if  married,  with  an  additional  exemption  for  each  de- 
pendent child.  The  ta.x  is  progressive:  that  is,  the  larger  one's 
income,  the  higher  rate  one  pays. 


374  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

In  ordinary  times  of  peace,  state  and  local  governments 
together  spend  much  more  money  than  the  national  govern- 
ment. In  war  time  the  reverse  is  true.  Enormous 
sums  of  money  were  required  for  the  conduct  of  the 
recent  war.  As  a  result  the  rates  of  import,  excise,  and  income 
taxes  were  greatly  increased,  and  unusual  forms  of  taxation 
were  adopted.  A  war  tax  was  placed  upon  many  articles  of 
common  use,  an  inheritance  tax  was  imposed  similar  to  that 
in  some  of  the  states,  and  the  excess  profits  of  businesses  which 
the  war  made  unusually  prosperous  were  taxed  heavily.  The 
effort  in  every  case  was  to  distribute  the  tax  so  that  every  one 
should  do  his  share,  while  the  burden  should  rest  most  heavily 
upon  those  who  could  best  bear  it. 

A  large  part  of  the  money  necessary  for  war  purposes,  and 
for  permanent  improvements  in  time  of  peace,  is  raised  by 
Government  borrowing.  Governments,  whether  national,  state, 
loans  or  local,  borrow  money  by  the  sale  of  bonds,  the 

purchase  price  with  interest  being  returned  to  the  purchaser 
after  a  stated  period  of  years.  The  national  government 
borrowed  more  than  22  billion  dollars  during  the  war  by  the 
sale  of  "liberty  bonds,"  and  an  additional  large  sum  by  the 
sale  of  "war  savings  stamps"  (see  page  187).  These  loans 
made  by  the  people  are  ultimately  paid  off  with  funds  raised 
by  taxation.  The  people  to-day  advance  money  to  the  govern- 
ment, which  the  people  of  to-morrow  pay  back  by  taxation. 
This  is  justifiable  because  the  war  was  fought  for  the  benefit 
of  future  generations  as  well  as  of  the  people  to-day.  For 
the  same  reason,  the  cost  of  permanent  improvements,  such 
as  roads  and  public  buildings,  is  distributed  over  a  period  of 
years. 

Investigate  and  report  on : 

The  full  meaning  of  Article  I,  section  8,  clause  i,  and  section  7,  clause  i, 
of  the  Constitution. 


TEAM  WORK  IN  TAXATION  375 

The  loss  to  the  nation  of  revenue  as  a  result  of  the  prohibition  of  the 
liquor  traffic. 

Compensating  financial  gains  to  the  nation  through  prohibition  of  the 
liquor  trafiic. 

Why  an  income  tax  is  a  good  form  of  taxation.  Why  it  should  be 
"progressive"  (page  373). 

The  justice  of  an  inheritance  tax.     Of  a  tax  on  excess  profits. 

Articles  upon  which  you  pay  an  import  duty. 

Why  government  is  justified  in  using  force  to  compel  the  payment  of 
taxes. 

READINGS 

County  and  state  reports.     Local  tax  lists. 
In  Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 
Series  B  :  Lesson  22,  Financing  the  war. 

Lesson  23,  Thrift  and  war  savings. 
The  United  States  Treasury  Department;    in  Federal  Executive  Departments, 

Bulletin,  1919,  No.  74,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education. 
In  Long's  American  Patriotic  Prose: 

Taxation  and  Government  (John  Fiske),  pp.  249-254. 
North  Carolina  Club  Year  Book,  1917-1918,  pp.  49-68  (University  of  North  Carolina 

Record,  Extension  Series  No.  30,  Chapel  Hill,  N.  C). 
Tufts,  Jas.  H.,  The  Real  Business  of  Liinng,  pp.  52-54;  242-246  (Henry  Holt  Co.). 
Hart,  A.  B.,  Actual  Government,  pp.  381-429  (Longmans,  Green  &  Co.). 
Reed,  T.  H.,  Form  and  Functions  of  American  Government,  pp.  468-481   (World 

Book  Co.). 
Encyclopedia  of  American  Government,  under  "Tax"  and  "Taxation." 
Plehn,  C.  C,  Introduction  to  Public  Finance  (Macmillan). 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
HOW  WE  GOVERN  OURSELVES 

Early  in  our  study  we  considered  the  question  why  we  have 
government  (Chapter  IV).  We  saw  then  that  it  is  the  people's 
organization  for  team  work  in  protecting  and  promoting  their 
common  interests.  Succeeding  chapters  contain  evidence  that 
this  is  so,  although  they  also  show  that  the  results  achieved  by 
government  are  by  no  means  perfect.  Now  we  are  to  consider 
how  we  have  organized  to  get  team  work  and  how  well  our 
organization  is  suited  to  its  purpose. 

As  a  people  we  have  seemed  to  think  it  more  important  for 
government  to  protect  our  interests,  than  to  have  it  promote 
them.  It  has  seemed  more  democratic  to  depend 
as°rpr™ector  as  largely  as  possible  upon  private  enterprise  and 
of  individual  initiative  to  promote  our  interests  and  to  look  to 
^^  '^  ^  government  merely  to  protect  our  freedom  of  ac- 

tion. We  have  expected  government  to  do  things  for  us,  only 
when  it  became  clear  that  the  service  could  not  be  performed 
adequately  by  private  enterprise.  This  was  especially  true 
in  the  early  days  of  our  history,  and  with  respect  to  our  national 
government. 

However,  as  the  conditions  of  life  have  become  more  complex, 
and  as  we  have  become  more  dependent  upon  one  another,  we 
Government  ^^^^  gradually  come  to  look  to  government  to 
as  a  performer  perform  new  services  for  us,  and  have  yielded  to  it 
of  service         ^  larger  control  over  private  enterprise. 

We  have  had  illustration  of  this  in  foregoing  chapters.  For 
example,  roads  were  at  first  built  and  controlled  almost  en- 

376 


HOW  WE   GOVERN  OURSELVES  377 

tirely  by  private  enterprise ;  now  they  are  mostly  public  high- 
ways maintained  by  state  and  local  governments  with  the 
cooperation  of  the  national  government  (pp.  259-264).  Pro- 
posals to  place  railroads  under  government  management  have 
always  met,  and  still  meet,  with  opposition ;  but  government 
exercises  a  much  greater  control  over  them  than  formerly. 

Even  education  has  only  gradually  been  made  compulsory 
by  law,  and  the  "public"  high  school  is  of  recent  origin.  Until 
quite  recently  the  people  have  been  left  largely  to  their  own 
resources  for  the  protection  of  health,  and  for  recreation  and 
social  life. 

There  are  those  who  take  the  extreme  position  that  govern- 
ment should  manage  practically  everything  for  us.  Such  are 
the  Socialists,  who  believe  that  the  unequal  dis-  views  of  the 
tribution  of  wealth  (see  page  131)  and  the  resulting  socialists 
inequalities  in  opportunity  to  satisfy  wants  are  due  to  the  con- 
trol of  industry  by  a  small  and  essentiall}^  selfish  capitalistic 
class.  They  believe  that  all  natural  resources  and  all  capital 
should  belong  to  the  people  jointly,  and  that  the  people's 
government  should  control  both  the  production  and  the  dis- 
tribution of  wealth. 

It  has  been  objected  to  the  socialist  scheme  that,  since  govern- 
ment would  still  be  in  the  hands  of  imperfect  human  beings,  it 
would  not  be  wise  enough  to  accomplish  the  desired  result ; 
that  political  motives  would  enter  into  government  manage- 
ment, as  they  do  in  government  enterprises  to-day,  and  would 
prevent  the  achievement  of  the  desired  results ;  and  that,  the 
opportunity  for  private  initiative  and  enterprise  having  been 
removed,  there  would  be  lacking  one  of  the  chief  inducements 
to  human  progress. 

Whether  the  socialistic  program  ever  works  out  in  practice 
or  not,  the  fact  remains  that  an  increasing  amount  of  positive 
service  is  being  performed  by  government,  and  an  increasing 
control  exercised  by  it  over  private  enterprise. 


378  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

Investigate  and  report  on  the  following : 

N  Arguments  for  and  against  socialism. 
The  distinction  between  socialism,  anarchism,  and  bolshevism. 
Whether  government  management  of  railroads  or  of  the  postal  service 
is  socialistic ;  or  the  ownership  of  waterworks  by  a  town. 

To  THE  Teacher  :  Controversial  questions,  such  as  socialism,  or  topics  regard- 
ing which  there  is  much  confused  thinking,  are  likely  to  come  up  at  any  time.  To 
evade  them,  when  they  come  up  naturally,  is  worse  than  useless.  The  pupils  hear 
about  them,  and  absorb  information  and  misinformation  about  them,  at  home  and 
elsewhere.     The  school  is  under  obligation  to  afford  a  basis  for  straight  thinking. 

It  is  of  the  utmost  importance,  however,  what  the  school  should  attempt  to  teach 
in  relation  to  such  topics.  It  is  not  to  lead  the  pupils  to  a  final  judgment  regarding 
them  ;  the  pupils  have  no  basis  of  experience  for  such  judgments.  It  is  not  to  afford 
adequate  knowledge  about  the  topics  to  enable  them  to  form  such  judgments; 
they  could  not  grasp  it  even  if  the  teacher  and  the  available  books  could  give  it. 

The  fundamental  thing  to  be  inculcated  in  young  citizens  in  relation  to  such 
topics  is  an  appreciation  of  their  complexity,  an  open-minded  attitude,  and  a  habit  of 
deferring  final  judgments  in  the  face  of  imperfect  knowledge. 

In  SO  far  as  government  performs  service  for  us,  it  must  have 
an  organization  for  that  purpose,  with  competent  leadership. 

And  if  it  is  not  to  interfere  unduly  with  freedom 
for^service  of  action  or  personal  liberty,  the  people  must  have 
and  for  con-      an  organization  by  which  to  maintain  control  over 

it.  Thus  there  must  be  an  organization  to  insure 
efficient  service,  and  there  must  be  an  organization  to  in- 
sure democracy,  or  popular  control.  If  both  organizations 
are  effective,  we  have  an  efficient  democracy,  toward  which  we 
have  been  striving  through  all  our  history,  but  which  we  have 
not  yet  completely  attained. 

A  government  may  be  eflficient  in  performing  service  for  the  people  with- 
out being  democratic.  In  fact,  it  may  be  easier  to  get  eflicient  service 
under  an  autocratic  government.  Germany  before  the  war  illustrated  this. 
But  we  believe  that  a  government  may  be  both  efficient  and  democratic. 
This  depends  upon  competent  leadership  and  popular  control;  and  both 
of  these  depend  upon  education  (Chapter  XIX). 

In  the  remaining  pages  of  this  book  we  shall  consider  both  the 
organization  of  our  government  for  service  and  that  for  popular 


HOW  WE   GOVERN  OURSELVES  379 

control.     In  this  chapter  we  shall  examine  some  of  the  methods 
by  which  we  seek  to  control  government,  or  to  be  self-governing. 

The  people  of  a  community  may  govern  themselves  by  direct 
action  or  indirectly  through  representatives,  just  as  a  group 
of  farmers  may  build  their  own  schoolhouse  or  Direct  self- 
church,  or  employ  some  one  to  do  it  for  them,  government 
When  English  colonists  settled  New  England,  geographical 
conditions  and  other  reasons  led  them  to  form  small,  compact 
communities,  in  which  it  was  easy  to  assemble  frequently  at 
the  meetinghouse  to  discuss  matters  of  community  concern 
and  to  agree  upon  rules,  or  laws,  to  regulate  them.  This  local 
government  by  "town  meeting"  has  persisted  in  many  New 
England  "towns,"  or  "townships,"  to  the  present  day. 

This  direct  action  of  the  people  in  the  New  England  town  is 
for  the  purpose  of  making  the  laws  only.     When  it  comes  to 
the  enforcement  of  these  laws,  it  is  necessary  to  Rgpresenta- 
delegate  the  authority  to  some  one.     The  town  tive  self- 
meeting  could  make  a  law  against  permitting  hogs  eovernmen 
to  run  at  large,  but  it  chose  some  one,  a  "hog  reeve,"  to  see  that 
the  law  was  observed.     When  the  community  is  large  it  is 
found  more  convenient  to  choose  representatives  also  to  make 
the  laws.   Thus  each  Massachusetts  town  had  its  representative 
in  the  lawmaking  assembly  of  the  colony  as  a  whole.     This 
representative  system  of  government  now  prevails  in  our  cities, 
counties,  states,  and  nation. 

Even  in  the  larger  communities,  however,  such  as  cities,  states, 

and  the  nation  itself,  the  people  have  sought  to  retain  more 

or   less  direct  control  over  lawmaking.      In  the  ^.     ^     ,, 

f     1  Direct  self- 

first  place,  the  "fundamental  law     of  the  states  government 

and   nation  found   in   their   constitutions,   which  through  con- 
stitutions 
determine  what  the  form  and  powers  of  govern- 
ment shall  be,  has  been  adopted  by  more  direct  action  of  the 
people  than  most  other  laws  (see  pp.  419,  444).     The  preamble 
to  the  federal  Constitution  asserts  that  "We,  the  people  of  the 


380  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

United  States  ...  do  ordain  and  establish  this  Constitution 
for  the  United  States  of  America."  Neither  state  nor  national 
constitutions  can  be  altered  except  by  special  action  by  the 
people  themselves,  either  by  direct  vote  at  the  polls  or  by  con- 
ventions of  representatives  chosen  especially  for  the  purpose. 

It  has  long  been  the  practice  in  many  communities  to  submit 
important  local  questions  to  popular  vote  for  decision,  such  as 
the  question  of  issuing  bonds  for  public  improve- 
making:  ments,    or    of    licensing    saloons.     Withm    recent 

initiative  and  years  in  a  number  of  states  the  people  have  gained 
direct  control  over  lawmaking  in  regard  to  any 
subject  whatever,  both  in  local  and  state  affairs,  by  means  of 
the  "initiative  and  referendum."  The  "initiative"  is  the  right 
of  the  voters  themselves  to  "initiate,"  or  propose,  legislation. 
This  is  done  by  means  of  a  petition  signed  by  a  specified  number 
of  voters.  The  legislature  may  then  act  upon  the  proposed 
law ;  but  if  it  does  not  do  so,  the  law  is  submitted  to  the  people 
for  their  vote  at  the  next  election.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the 
legislature  passes  a  law  that  is  objectionable  to  some  of  the  voters 
a  petition  signed  by  a  specified  number  of  voters  requires  the 
law  to  be  referred  to  the  people  for  their  approval  or  rejection. 
This  is  the  "referendum." 

Of  the  21  states  that  had  adopted  the  initiative  and  refer- 
endum (to  191 7)  only  four  were  east  of  the  Mississippi  River 
Democracy  of  (Maine,  Maryland,  Michigan,  and  Ohio).i  The 
the  West  movement  to  increase  popular  control  over  govern- 

ment has  always  been  stronger  in  the  West,  as  we  shall  see  in 
other  connections. 

For  the  most  part,  however,  our  laws  are  made  by  our  repre- 
sentatives, over  whom  we  exercise  more  or  less  control.  Some 
of  the  more  important  means  by  which  this  control  is  exercised 

1  "The  Initiative  and  Referendum,"  Bulletin  No.  6,  submitted  to  the  Constitu- 
tional Convention  of  Massachusetts  (191 7)  by  the  Commission  to  Compile  Informa- 
tion and  Data,  p.  10. 


HOW   WE   GOVERN   OURSELVES  38 1 

are  described  in  following  chapters ;  but  first  of  all  we  exercise 

control  by  choosing  our  representatives  at  frequent  intervals. 

Let  us  inquire  to  what  extent  the  people  have  a  voice  in  this 

choice. 

It  is  not  true  that  all  citizens  have  a  voice  in  choosing  their 

representatives,  though  it  is  more  nearly  true  to-day  than  ever 

before.     The  right  to  a  voice  in  this  choice  is  called  _ 

.     ,  ,        ,  ,  .  .  The  suffrage 

the  suffrage.     It  is  bestowed  only  on  those  citizens 

who  possess  certain  qualifications.  The  constitution  of  each 
state  fixes  the  qualifications  for  those  who  live  within  the 
boundaries  of  the  state,  the  national  government  having  exer- 
cised no  control  over  the  matter  except  in  two  cases.  After 
the  Civil  War,  the  Fifteenth  Amendment  to  the  federal  Con- 
stitution was  adopted,  providing  that  "The  right  of  citizens 
of  the  United  States  to  vote  shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  by 
the  United  States,  or  by  any  state,  on  account  of  race,  color, 
or  previous  condition  of  servitude";  and  recently  Congress 
has  enacted  another  amendment  to  the  federal  Constitution 
which,  when  approved  by  a  sufficient  number  of  states,  will 
bestow  the  suffrage  upon  all  women  of  the  nation  who  possess 
the  other  necessary  qualifications. 

The  founders  of  our  nation  were  far  from  democratic  as  we 
now  understand  the  term.  They  believed  that  the  government 
should  be  controlled  by  the  educated  and  prop-  Early  distrust 
ertied  class,  which  was  small.  The  lack  of  con-  °^  *^®  people 
fidence  in  the  people  was  shown  in  various  ways  but  among 
others  by  the  restriction  of  the  suffrage.  This  was  true  even 
in  the  New  England  town  meeting,  which  we  are  in  the  habit  of 
considering  as  the  most  democratic  of  institutions.  For  in- 
stance, no  one  could  vote  in  colonial  times  who  did  not 
belong  to  the  church.  Religious  qualifications  were  soon 
abolished  however,  and  property  qualifications  have  almost 
completely  disappeared,  though  in  some  states  voters  must  be 
taxpayers. 


382 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


"Equal  Suffrage" 

The  Governor  of  New  York  and  his  wife  casting  their  ballots, 
the  voting  booths  in  the  background. 


Note 


To-day  no  citizen  may  vote  in  any  state  who  has  not 
Ouaiifications  ^^^ched  the  age  of  21.  The  reason  for  this  is 
for  the  clear  and  just,  but  it  excludes  from  the  suffrage 

su  rage  about    30    million    young    citizens.      Persons    of 

unsound   mind  are  denied  the  suffrage,  and  citizens  may   be 


HOW  WE   GOVERN   OURSELVES  383 

disqualified  by  crime.  In  some  states  illiterates  are  denied  the 
right  to  vote.  In  most  states  foreigners  must  have  completed 
the  process  of  naturalization,  which  requires  five  years,  before 
they  may  vote.  All  states  require  residence  in  the  state  and 
in  their  local  districts  for  specified  periods  prior  to  voting.  But 
with  these  exceptions,  the  suffrage  is  now  possessed  by 
practically  all  male  citizens  who  are  21  years  of  age  or  over, 
and  is  rapidly  being  extended  to  women  on  equal  terms  with 
the  men. 

There  are  instances  in  our  early  history  where  women  were 
permitted  to  vote  —  in  New  Jersey,  for  example,  prior  to  1807. 
In  1869,  Wyoming,  while  still  a  territory,  extended  woman 
full  suffrage  to  women,  and  has  been  an  equal  suffrage 
suffrage  state  since  her  admission  to  the  Union  in  1890.  Woman 
suffrage  has  rapidly  gained  ground  in  recent  years,  most  rapidly 
in  the  West,  and  at  the  present  writing  (1919)  15  states  have 
granted  women  equal  suffrage  with  men,  all  but  two  of  these 
states  being  west  of  the  Mississippi  River.  The  women  of 
Alaska  also  have  this  right.  In  many  other  states  they  have 
the  suffrage  at  certain  elections.  Moreover,  nearly  all  of  the 
36  required  states  have  ratified  the  suffrage  amendment  to  the 
federal  Constitution. 

Why  may  an  autocratic  government  perform  more  efficient  service  than 
a  democratic  government  ? 

What  is  a  "benevolent  despotism"?  What  is  a  "paternalistic  govern- 
ment"? 

Why  do  we  consider  an  imperfect  democracy  better  than  an  efficient 
autocracy  ? 

Do  you  have  direct  or  representative  self-government  in  your  community? 
Explain. 

What  voluntary  organizations  are  there  in  your  community  (such  as 
farmers'  cooperative  organizations,  business  corporations,  churches,  clubs, 
etc.)  that  have  direct  self-government?     Representative  self-government? 

Does  your  county  or  town  have  representatives  in  state  and  national 
governments?  What  are  their  names?  How  long  will  they  be  your  repre- 
sentatives ? 


384  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

Does  your  state  have  the  initiative  and  referendum?  If  so,  explain  in 
detail  how  they  are  used.     Give  instances  of  the  use  of  either. 

Give  instances  (if  any)  of  the  use  of  the  referendum  in  your  community 
to  settle  a  local  question. 

From  your  state  constitution  ascertain  the  exact  qualifications  for  the 
suffrage  in  your  state. 

Report  on  the  history  of  woman  suffrage  in  your  state. 

Do  you  think  any  of  the  restrictions  now  existing  on  the  suffrage  in  your 
state  should  be  removed  ?     Why  ? 

Do  you  think  any  further  restrictions  should  be  placed  on  the  suffrage 
in  your  state?     Why? 

One  of  the  important  principles  upon  which  democratic 
government  rests  is  that  the  will  of  the  majority  should  control. 
Majority  and  It  is  the  only  arrangement  that  can  be  made  with 
minority  rule  justice.  It  often  happens,  however,  that  a  minority, 
and  sometimes  a  very  small  minority,  gains  control.  It  also 
sometimes  happens  that  the  party  in  power  in  government, 
whether  it  is  a  majority  or  a  minority,  governs  without  full 
consideration  for  the  interests  of  other  parties  or  of  the  com- 
munity as  a  whole.  We  shall  try  to  get  some  idea  of  how  this 
happens,  and  also  of  methods  proposed  to  prevent  it;  for  as 
long  as  it  happens  we  cannot  lay  claim  to  a  full  measure  of 
democracy  in  our  government. 

If  the  pupils  of  your  class  or  school  are  voting  on  the  kind  of  entertain- 
ment to  be  given,  and  a  difference  of  opinion  arises,  can  you  think  of  a  fairer 
way  to  decide  than  by  a  vote  of  the  majority  ?  How  else  might  the  matter 
be  decided  ? 

If  the  majority  decides  the  question,  should  the  minority  jdeld  gracefully 
to  the  decision  ?     Why  ? 

After  the  majority  plan  has  been  adopted,  have  the  minority  any  rights 
in  the  matter? 

Is  the  majority  always  right  in  its  decisions  ?  Give  illustrations  to  prove 
your  answer. 

If  your  community  takes  a  vote  on  the  question  of  road  improvement, 
or  of  school  consolidation,  is  it  right  that  the  majority  should  decide  ? 

If  the  majority  rules  in  such  a  case,  is  it  right  that  the  citizens  of  the 
minority  party  should  be  taxed  for  the  improvement  as  well  as  those  of  the 
majority?    Why? 


HOW  WE  GOVERN  OURSELVES  385 

If  your  class  president  is  elected  by  a  majority  of  the  class,  or  a  county 
supervisor  by  a  majority  of  the  voters  of  the  county,  to  what  extent  is  it 
the  duty  of  this  officer  to  consider  the  interests  of  the  minority  which  voted 
against  him? 

Our  government  is  a  government  by  political  parties.  That 
is,  political  parties  control  the  government.  Voters  acting 
independently  of  one  another  cannot  exercise  much  Political 
influence.  There  must  be  team  work  in  political  parties 
matters  as  in  everything  else.  A  political  party  consists  of 
those  voters  who  think  alike  and  act  together  on  questions 
of  government  policy,  or  in  electing  their  representatives  in 
government.  It  is  a  voluntary  organization,  entirely  outside 
of  the  government  and  not  recognized  in  our  constitutions,  but 
exercising  very  great  influence  upon  government. 

In  his  Farewell  Address  to  the  people,  Washington  said : 

The  spirit  [of  party]  unfortunately  is  inseparable  from  our  nature,  having 
its  root  in  the  strongest  passions  of  the  human  mind.  It  exists  under  dif- 
ferent shapes  in  all  governments,  more  or  less  stifled,  controlled,  or  repressed ; 
but  in  those  of  the  popular  form  it  is  seen  in  its  greatest  rankness,  and  is 
truly  their  worst  enemy.  The  alternate  domination  of  one  faction  over 
another,  sharpened  by  the  spirit  of  revenge  natural  to  party  dissensions  .  .  . 
is  a  frightful  despotism.  .  .  .  The  common  and  continual  mischiefs  of  the 
spirit  of  party  are  sufficient  to  make  it  the  interest  and  duty  of  a  wise  people 
to  discourage  and  restrain  it. 

As  long  as  people  differ  on  questions  of  public  policy  there  are 
bound  to  be  political  parties,  as  Washington  knew,  and  they 
have  always  played  an  important  parf  in  our  govern-   „.    ,.  , 
ment.     But  necessary  and  useful  as  parties  have   of  the  party 
been,  the  events  of  our  history  have  shown  that   ^^^"* 
Washington's  warning  was  exceedingly  wise,  the  "party  spirit" 
having  often  proved  the  "worst  enemy"  of  our  democratic  gov- 
ernment. 

When  some  great  question  is  before  the  country,  like  that  of 
the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  or  that  of  slavery,  the  people 


386  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

are  usually  divided  into  two  great  parties.  The  party  that 
marshals  the  greater  number  of  votes  constitutes  a  majority 
y  J       ^  and  gains  control  of   the  government.     The   de- 

minority  feated  minority  usually  accepts  its   defeat   in   a 

opposihon  sportsmanlike  manner  and  loyally  supports  the  gov- 
ernment. Nevertheless  it  does  not  cease  its  opposition  to  the 
principles  of  the  party  in  power.  One  of  the  chief  values  of  the 
party  system  is  that  it  keeps  important  questions  in  constant 
discussion.  The  opposition  of  the  minority  serves  as  a  check 
upon  the  acts  of  the  party  in  power,  which  is  anxious  to 
avoid  arousing  too  much  opposition.  This  is  one  means 
of  control  over  the  government  enjoyed  by  the  minority 
party.  A  defeated  minority  at  one  election  may  become 
a  victorious  majority  at  the  next.  The  fact  that  a  party 
is  in  the  minority  does  not  necessarily  mean  that  it  is  in  the 
wrong. 

Minorities,  however,  sometimes  win  elections.  If  more  than 
two  parties  are  contesting  the  election,  which  often  happens, 

„  .  .  that  one  wins  which  has  the  greatest  number  of 
How  minon-  " 

ties  may  gain  votes,  though  this  number  may  be  less  than  the 
contro  combined  votes  of  the  opposing  parties.     No  other 

arrangement  seems  possible.  President  Wilson  won  his  first 
election  by  a  minority  vote,  the  opposition  being  divided  be- 
tween Taft  and  Roosevelt. 

A  minority  may  win  through  better  team  work.  There  are 
always  some  voters  who,  through  indifference  or  other  causes, 
do  not  cast  their  vote.  This  is  especially  likely  to  happen  in 
local  elections,  in  which  there  is  almost  never  as  large  a  vote 
cast  as  in  the  same  district  at  a  general  election.  It  is  one  of  the 
chief  objects  of  a  party  organization  to  keep  its  members  in- 
formed and  interested  and  to  see  that  they  cast  their  votes. 
The  party  that  is  best  organized  for  these  purposes  is  very  likely 
to  win  over  its  opponents  even  though  the  latter  are  more 
numerous. 


HOW  WE   GOVERN  OURSELVES  387 

The  organization  of  the  national  poUtical  parties  is  very- 
thorough.  Each  party  has  a  managing  committee  in  every 
local  district,  the  local  organizations  are  united  in  a  organization 
state  organization,  and  the  several  state  organiza-  of  parties  and 
tions  in  a  national  organization.  The  shrewdest 
men  the  party  affords  are  made  chairmen  of  committees  and 
chosen  for  other  positions  of  leadership.  Such  organization 
is  necessary  and  proper ;  it  is  only  common-sense  team  work. 
But  unfortunately  it  has  frequently  fallen  into  the  hands  of 
designing  men  who  have  used  it  to  promote  private  interests 
rather  than  those  of  the  public.  A  poHtical  "boss,"  who  is  at 
the  head  of  an  inner  "ring"  of  politicians,  often  decides  who 
shall  be  nominated  for  the  various  offices  of  government,  leav- 
ing no  choice  to  the  voters  themselves.  This  makes  of  our 
government  a  real  autocracy,  and  the  worst  kind  of  autocracy, 
because  the  autocrat  (the  "boss")  acts  in  secret,  and  is  in  no 
way  responsible  to  the  people.  It  is  the  "frightful  despotism" 
of  which  Washington  warned  his  countrymen  (p.  385). 

Political  "bosses"  are  often  allied  with  powerful  business 
interests  which  seek  legislation  and  governmental  administra- 
tion favorable  to  themselves.  This  has  given  rise  causes  of 
to  the  charge  sometimes  made  that  our  govern-  social  unrest 
ment  is  a  "plutocracy,"  a  government  of  the  people  by  a  small 
wealthy  class.  It  is  the  feeling  that  this  is  so  that  has  caused 
much  of  the  social  unre'st  at  the  present  time,  and  that  explains  in 
part  the  growth  of  the  socialists,  and  of  other  groups  that  would 
go  much  further  than  the  socialists  in  their  proposed  changes, 
such  as  the  I.  W.  W.  (Independent  Workers  of  the  World)  in  our 
country,  the  Bolshevists  in  Russia,  and  anarchists  everywhere. 

Unquestionably    selfish    groups    representing    great    wealth 
have  often    exerted   undue   influence   in   govern-  ^  . 

mental  affairs  without  regard  for  the  public  wel-  in  the  interest 
fare.     We  have  seen  how  the  public  lands  and  the  °*  ^  classes 
nation's  natural  resources  have  in  some  cases  fallen  into  the 


388  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

hands  of  wealthy  individuals  and  corporations  to  the  injury  of  the 
nation  and  of  those  who  want  to  use  them  for  productive  pur- 
poses (see  p.  203).  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  natural  that 
men  who  have  been  successful  in  managing  their  private  business 
affairs  should  also  be  influential  in  managing  public  affairs  with- 
out necessarily  having  unworthy  motives.  Nevertheless,  when 
government  falls  under  the  control  of  any  particular  class  or 
group,  whether  it  represents  wealth,  or  labor,  or  any  other 
interest,  if  it  has  not  due  regard  for  all  classes,  and  if  it  denies 
to  the  members  of  other  groups  the  voice  in  government  to 
which  they  are  entitled,  it  establishes  a  despotism  and  over- 
throws democracy. 

Why  do  the  people  submit  to  "boss  rule"?  In  the  first 
place,  they  do  not  always  submit  to  it.  Occasionally,  when 
the  "bosses"  go  to  unusual  extremes,  the  people 
people  sub-  give  way  to  "fits  of  public  rage,"  to  use  the  words 
mitto'boss  of  former  Senator  Elihu  Root,  "in  which  the 
people  rouse  up  and  tear  down  the  political  leader, 
first  of  one  party  and  then  of  the  other  party."  It  is  thus 
possible  for  the  people  to  escape  the  despotism  of  "boss  rule." 
But  two  things  seem  to  be  necessary  to  bring  it  about :  first, 
the  people  must  be  sufficiently  interested  in  the  management 
of  their  public  affairs ;  and,  second,  they  require  leadership.  It 
takes  close  attention  to  public  affairs  to  enable  a  citizen  to  make 
wise  decisions  for  himself ;  and  the  average  citizen  looks  around 
for  guidance.  The  absence  of  responsible  leadership  gives  the 
irresponsible  "boss"  his  chance. 

One  difficulty  encountered  by  the  citizen  who  wishes  to  vote 
intelligently  is  the  large  number  of  persons  to  be  chosen.  There 
The  short  have  been  cases  where  the  names  of  several  hundred 
ballot  candidates  appeared  on  the  same  ticket.     In  a  small 

community  a  voter  may  know  personally  all  the  candidates, 
but  in  larger  communities  this  is  not  so.  It  was  once  thought 
that  to  make  as  many  of  the  government  offices  as  possible 


HOW  WE   GOVERN   OURSELVES  389 

elective  was  a  step  in  the  direction  of  democracy,  and  that  it 
gave  the  people  direct  control  over  them.  But  it  has  not 
worked  out  this  way.  It  is  impossible  for  the  average  voter 
to  choose  wisely  among  so  many  candidates,  and  he  therefore 
falls  an  easy  prey  to  "boss  rule."  The  short  ballot  is  now  quite 
generally  advocated  to  meet  this  situation.  By  this  plan  the 
number  of  officers  to  be  elected  is  reduced,  and  includes  only 
those  who  are  responsible  for  determining  the  policies  of  govern- 
ment, such  as  members  of  legislatures  and  the  chief  executive 
officers.  These  few  important  officers  and  representatives  are 
then  made  responsible  for  the  appointment  of  all  other  subordi- 
nate officers  whose  business  is  to  carry  policies  into  effect.  This 
really  gives  the  people  better  control  over  their  government  by 
fixing  responsibility  in  a  few  places,  and  is  therefore  no  less 
democratic  than  the  older  plan.     (See  p.  408.) 

Do  you  have  a  long  ballot  or  a  short  ballot  in  your  county  or  town? 
In  your  state  ? 

How  many  offices  in  your  county  government  are  elective  ?  How  many 
of  the  men  holding  these  offices  do  you  know?  Consult  your  parents  as 
to  the  number  of  these  officers  they  know  personally.  How  many  does  your 
teacher  know  ? 

At  the  next  election  get  a  copy  of  the  ballot  used  in  your  community 
and  ascertain  the  number  of  candidates  for  all  ofl&ces,  including  local,  state, 
and  national. 

What  national  political  parties  exist  at  present  ? 

Are  the  voters  of  your  local  community  divided  into  parties  on  local 
questions?     If  so,  what  are  some  of  these  questions? 

Investigate  the  organization  in  your  county  (or  town)  of  the  political 
party  of  which  your  father  is  a  member.  Who  is  chairman  of  its  local 
committee  ? 

Investigate  the  work  that  a  party  organization  does  in  your  community 
during  an  election  campaign;  on  election  day;  in  the  time  between  elec- 
tions. 

Why  is  secret  control  over  government  dangerous? 

What  is  meant  by  "social  unrest"  (p.  387)? 

Are  all  men  of  your  acquaintance  equally  capable  of  directing  the  aflfairs 
of  government  in  ofl&ce  ?    Why  ? 


390  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

What  is  meant  by  "  responsible  "  and  "  irresponsible  "  leadership  (p.  388)? 
What  does  it  mean  to  say  that  a  leader  must  be  "responsive  as  well  as 
responsible"  to  the  people? 

Various  schemes  have  been  adopted  to  insure  to  every  voter 
a  free  expression  of  his  choice  for  representatives,  and  to  the 
The  secret  majority  their  right  to  govern.  One  of  these  is 
ballot  the  secret  ballot.     At  the  polls  each  voter  enters  a 

booth  by  himself  to  mark  his  ballot,  or  to  operate  the  voting 
machine,  and  need  have  no  fear  that  a  possible  "watcher" 
may  cause  him  to  lose  his  job  or  otherwise  suffer  for  voting 
as  he  thinks  best.  The  secret  ballot  also  reduces  the  likelihood 
that  votes  will  be  bought,  for  there  is  no  way  of  telling  whether 
the  man  who  sells  his  vote  will  vote  as  he  has  agreed ;  and  the 
man  who  sells  his  vote  is  not  to  be  trusted.  The  only  voters 
who  are  embarrassed  by  the  secret  ballot  are  those  who  cannot 
read  their  ballots.  These  have  to  seek  help,  and  are  thus  open 
to  influence  by  agents  of  the  "boss." 

Another  device  to  insure  to  the  voter  a  voice  in  his  govern- 
ment is  the  direct  primary  for  the  nomination  of  candidates  for 
The  direct  office.  By  the  older  method  candidates  were 
primary  nominated    by    party    conventions;     but    under 

"boss  rule"  they  were  in  reality  determined  upon  in  advance 
by  the  "boss,"  the  nomination  by  the  convention  being  largely 
a  matter  of  form,  the  delegates  voting  according  to  instruc- 
tions. The  ordinary  voter  had  nothing  to  say  about  it.  Under 
the  direct  primary  plan  any  voter  possessing  the  necessary 
qualifications  for  holding  office  may  become  a  candidate  by 
merely  securing  the  signatures  of  a  specified  number  of  voters 
to  a  petition.  Then  a  primary  election  is  held  at  which  the 
voters  of  each  party  go  to  the  polls  to  express  their  choice  for 
one  among  the  several  candidates  who  have  been  announced 
for  each  office  to  be  filled.  The  candidates  receiving  the  highest 
number  of  votes  become  the  nominees  of  their  party.  The 
direct  primary  is  now  used  quite  widely  throughout  the  United 


HOW  WE  GOVERN  OURSELVES  391 

States  and  is  believed  to  be  a  great  improvement  over  the  old 
method,  though  it  does  not  always  work  as  well  as  was  expected 
of  it.  The  truth  is  that  any  organization  is  open  to  abuse  by 
clever  people  who  wish  to  abuse  it,  and  no  political  organization 
will  work  effectively  unless  the  voters  are  intelligent  and  eternally 
vigilant. 

The  President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  are 
still  nominated  by  national  party  conventions.  But  in  some 
states  there  are  presidential  preferential  primaries.  Preferential 
These  are  direct  primaries  at  which  the  voters  ex-  primaries 
press  their  preference  for  the  presidential  candidates.  This  is 
intended  to  be  a  guide  to  the  nominating  convention,  but  there 
is  nothing  to  compel  the  convention  to  follow  the  guidance. 

Democratic  government  demands  certain  rights  for  minorities. 
We  have  seen  how  a  minority  party  may  exercise  a  wholesome 
check  upon  the  party  in  power  by  constant  xhe  rights  of 
opposition.  We  never  have  a  Congress  or  a  state  minorities 
legislature  in  which  the  members  are  all  of  one  party.  This  is 
a  good  thing,  for  it  results  in  discussion  and  debate  in  the  legis- 
lative body  by  which  the  people  are  kept  informed. 

The  initiative  and  referendum  (p.  380)  are  also  weapons 
in  the  hands  of  a  minority ;  for,  as  we  have  seen,  a  small  number 
of  voters  may  compel  the  legislature  to  consider,  or  reconsider, 
any  piece  of  legislation,  or  to  submit  it  to  the  people  for  their 
decision.  Minority  parties  may  thus  keep  prominently  before 
the  people  measures  that  have  been  adversely  acted  upon  by 
the  majority. 

Another  device  that  has  been  introduced  in  some  states  and 

local  communities  is  the  recall  of  officials.     By  means  of  this  a 

specified  number  of  votefs  may  demand  that  an 

The  recall 
officer  of  government  who  is  displeasing  to  them 

be  brought  before  the  people  for  their  vote  as  to  whether  he 

shall  be  removed  from  office  or  not.     A  small  minority  may 

thus  call  an  elected  officer  to  account. 


392  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

One  plan  strongly  advocated  by  some  students  of  govern- 
ment to  insure  to  minorities  an  actual  voice  in  government 
P  f  al  ^^  ihsLt  of  proportional  representation  of  parties  in 
representa-  legislative  bodies.  By  this  plan  each  party  would 
ion  0  parties  ^^  represented  in  proportion  to  its  strength.  If 
two  parties  were  of  about  equal  strength  they  would  be  repre- 
sented equally ;  if  one  were  twice  as  strong  as  another,  it  would 
have  twice  the  representation.  The  plan  is  actually  in  use  in 
very  few  localities.  In  Illinois,  however,  the  cumulative-vote 
plan  is  in  use,  by  which  each  voter  is  permitted  as  many  votes 
as  there  are  places  to  be  filled,  and  to  distribute  these  votes 
among  the  several  candidates  or  to  cast  them  all  for  one  candi- 
date. Thus,  if  there  are  three  representatives  to  be  elected 
from  his  district,  he  may  give  one  vote  to  each  of  the  three,  or 
he  may  give  three  votes  to  one  of  them.  A  minority  may  thus, 
by  concentrating  all  of  their  votes  upon  a  single  candidate,  be 
reasonably  sure  of  representation.  But  it  requires  good  team 
work  to  get  this  result. 

Representation  in  our  government  is  on  a  territorial,  or  geographical,  basis. 

That  is,  each  representative  represents  the  people  in  a  given  territory  or 

district.     Thus,  in  many  counties  the  board  of  supervisors  is 

Dmerent  composed  of  representatives  from  each  township,  the  mem- 

bases  of  rep-      ,  ,  ,     .  ,  ,.      •         r   1 

resentation        ^^^      state  legislatures  represent  districts  of  the  state,  mem- 
bers of  the  United  States  House  of  Representatives  represent 
congressional  districts  in  each  state,  and  United  States  Senators  represent 
states. 

In  each  district  under  our  present  system,  however,  the  representatives 
are  elected  by  a  majority,  though  they  are  supposed  to  represent  all  the  people 
when  elected.  If  proportional  representation  were  adopted,  it  would  be 
necessary  to  increase  the  number  of  representatives  from  each  district,  in 
order  that  each  party  should  have  at  least  one.  Then  we  should  have 
representation  by  parties,  as  well  as  by  districts. 

We  now  hear  a  good  deal  about  soviet  government  in  Russia.  The 
"soviet"  is  a  representative  body  with  a  different  basis  of  representation 
than  either  of  the  above.  Soviet  government  is  government  by  "  workers  " 
and  each  representative  represents  a  trade  or  occupation.  It  is  as  if,  in  our 
country,  all  the  farmers  in  a  county,  as  a  group,  should  elect  their  repre- 


HOW  WE   GOVERN  OURSELVES  393 

sentatives  to  the  board  of  county  supervisors,  all  the  carpenters  their 
representatives,  all  the  merchants  theirs,  and  so  on.  It  would  be,  as  it  is 
in  Russia,  representation  by  occupational  groups,  instead  of  by  geographical 
districts  as  now.  It  would  differ  from  proportional  representation  by  parties, 
as  described  above,  because  each  political  party  is  made  up  of  representa- 
tives of  all  occupations.  Only  in  a  few  cases  have  political  parties  in  our 
country  tended  to  become  identified  with  occupational  interests,  as  in  the 
case  of  "labor  parties,"  and  the  old  "greenback  party,"  which  was  largely 
made  up  of  farmers. 

At  election  time  visit  the  nearest  polling  place,  observe  the  procedure 
of  voting,  and  report.     Get  sample  copies  of  the  ballot  used. 

Who  are  the  different  persons  on  duty  at  the  polling  place,  and  what  are 
their  duties? 

Why  and  how  do  voters  "register"  before  an  election? 
Describe  a  primary  election  in  your  community. 
How  do  discussion  and  debate  protect  the  rights  of  minorities? 
Is  the  "recall"  used  in  your  state?     If  so,  what  instances  of  its  exercise 
do  you  know,  and  what  were  the  circumstances  ? 

What  advantages  and  disadvantages  can  you  see  in  representation  by 
occupational  groups  as  compared  with  representation  by  geographical 
districts? 

READINGS 
In  Foerster  and  Pierson's  American  Ideals: 

Contributions  of  the  west  to  democracy  (F.  J.  Turner),  pp.  72-97. 
A  charter  of  democracy  (Theodore  Roosevelt),  pp.  1 14-132. 
Can  democracy  be  organized?     (E.  A.  Alderman),  pp.  158-174. 
The  sovereignty  of  the  people  (A.  de  Tocqueville),  pp.  257-260. 
General  tendency  of  the  laws  (A.  de  Tocqueville),  pp.  261-266. 
The  activity  of  the  body  politic  (A.  de  Tocqueville),  pp.  267-272. 
The  German  and  the  American  temper  (Kuno  Francke),  pp.  273-281. 
The  "Divine  Average"  (G.  Lowes  Dickinson),  pp.  282-284. 
In  Long's  American  Patriotic  Prose: 

Farewell  Address  (Washington),  pp.  105-123. 
The  independent  in  pohtics  (James  Russell  Lowell),  pp.  241-243. 
Liberty  is  responsibility,  not  license  (McKinley),  pp.  254-255. 
The  right  of  the  people  to  rule  (Roosevelt),  pp.  272-273. 
In  Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 
Series  A:  Lesson  16,  Caste  in  India. 

Lesson  19,  Active  citizenship. 
Series  C:  Lesson  17,  Custom  as  a  basis  for  law. 
Lesson  18,  Cooperation  through  law. 
Cleveland,  F.  A.,  Four  Essentials  of  Democratic  Government, 
Hart,  A.  B.,  Actual  Government,  chaps,  iv,  v. 


394  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

Ashley,  R.  L.,  The  New  Civics  (Macmillan),  chaps,  vi,  vii. 

Reed,  T.  H.,  Form  and  Functions  of  American  Government,  chaps,  v-viii    (World 

Book  Co.). 
Bryce,  James,  The  American  Commonwealth,  vol.  II,  Part  iii,  The  party  system;  and 

Part  V,  chaps,  xcvii-xcix.  The  faults  and  strength  of  democracy. 
Encyclopedia  of  American  Government,  under  the  several  topics  referred  to  in  this 

chapter. 
Teachable  Facts  about  Bolshevism  and  Sovietism,  Institute  for  Pubhc  Service, 

51  Chambers  St.,  New  York  City. 


CHAPTER  XXV 
OUR  LOCAL  GOVERNMENTS 

When  the  first  colonists  of  America  undertook  to  organize 
governments  for  their  local  settlements,  they  naturally  adopted 
forms  with  which  they  had  been  familiar  in  Eng-  xjnits  of  local 
land.     There  were  two  such  forms  which  met  their   government 
needs,   the  town,   or  township,   and   the   county.     These  have 
remained  to  this  day  the  chief  units  of  our  local  government. 

Geographical  conditions  were  such  in  New  England  that  the 
colonists  settled  in  compact  communities.     There  the  township, 
or  town,  was  adopted  as  the  more  convenient  unit.    „,    „ 
It  included  a  central  village  and  the  neighboring  England 
farming  region  with  irregular  boundaries.     It  is  ^°^°^ 
still  the  unit  of  local  government  throughout  rural  New  England, 
and  in  many  communities  that  have  grown  to  the  proportion 
of  cities.     It  has  been  said  of  the  New  England  town  govern- 
ment that  it  is  "the  fullest  and  most  perfect  example  of  local 
self-government  either   then   or  now   in  existence.  .  .  .     The 
state  might  fall  to  pieces,  and  the  town  would  still  supply  all 
the  wants  of  every-day  government."  ^ 

The  chief  feature  of  the  New  England  town  government  is 
the  town  meeting,  which  is  an  assemblage  of  the  voters  of  the 
town  at  the  town  hall  (formerly  often  at  the  The  town 
church),  the  regular  annual  town  meeting  being  meeting 
held  in  the  spring  or  autumn,  and  special  meetings  as  necessary. 
These  meetings  are  called  by  the  selectmen  (see  below)  by  means 
of  a  warrant  which  contains  a  statement  of  the  business  to  be 
transacted.  At  the  annual  meeting  reports  are  heard  from  the 
oflScers  of  the  preceding  year,  officers  for  the  new  year  are 

1  Henry  Cabot  Lodge,  A  Short  History  of  the  English  Colonies  in  America,  p.  414. 

^95 


396 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


elected,  by-laws  (town  laws)  are  enacted,  taxes  are  levied  and 
appropriations  made  for  the  various  purposes  of  government. 
It  is  direct  self-government  (see  p.  379). 

Among  the  officers  elected  by  the  town  meeting  are  the 
selectmen,  varying  in  number  from  three  to  nine,  who  have 
New  England  charge  of  the  town  property  and  are  responsible  to 
town  officers  ^^g  town  meeting  for  the  conduct  of  the  town's 
business;  a  town  clerk,  who  keeps  the  town  records,  issues 
marriage  licenses,  registers  births  and  deaths,  and  performs 
other  clerical  services ;  an  assessor  of  taxes ;  a  treasurer ;  several 

constables,  who  have  police 
duties,  execute  warrants 
issued  by  the  selectmen  and 
by  the  justices  of  the  peace, 
and  sometimes  act  as  tax 
collectors;  school  commit- 
teemen ;  overseers  of  the 
poor ;  members  of  the  board 
of  health  and  of  other 
boards  for  public  service. 
In  some  of  the  New  Eng- 
land states  the  justices  of 
the  peace,  who  are  not 
strictly  town  ofl&cers  (see  p.  438),  are  elected  by  the  town  meeting. 
There  is  here  given  a  copy  of  portions  of  a  warrant  for  a 
special  town  meeting.  This  warrant  is  very  brief  as  compared 
The  town  with  those  issued  for  a  regular  annual  meeting ; 
warrant  but  it  gives  an  idea  of  the  variety  of  business 

transacted. 

TOWN  WARRANT 

Middlesex,  ss. 

To  Henry  Atchison  one  of  the  constables  of  the  Town  of  Framingham  or 
to  either  of  them.  Greeting: 

In  the  name  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  you  are  hereby 

required  to  notify  and  warn  the  inhabitants  of  the  Town  of  Framingham, 


Old  Town  Hall,  Marblehead,  Mass. 


OUR  LOCAL   GOVERNMENTS  397 

qualified  to  vote  in  elections,  and  Town  affairs,  to  meet  at  the  Casino  in 
said  Framingham,  on 

Wednesday,  July  i6th,  a.d.  igig 
at  eight  o'clock  p.m.  Then  and  there  to  act  on  the  following  articles,  viz. : 
Article  i.  To  hear  and  act  upon  such  reports  of  any  of  the  officers  of  the 
Town  or  Committees  of  the  Town  as  may  be  then  and  there  presented,  ap- 
propriate money  to  carry  out  the  recommendations  thereof,  or  any  of  them, 
pass  any  vote  or  take  any  action  relative  to  any  of  said  reports,  or  any  part 
thereof. 

Art.  2.  To  hear  and  act  on  the  report  of  the  Committee  directed  to  investi- 
gate school  needs  in  the  Apple  Street  District.  .  .  . 

Art.  3.  To  see  if  the  Town  will  vote  to  instruct  the  To\vn  Treasurer  to 
place  to  the  credit  of  the  Park  Department  ...  for  the  care  and  mainte- 
nance of  parks  and  playgrounds,  any  and  all  sums  of  money  which  may  be 
received  by  him  ...  on  account  of  said  Department,  and  authorize  the  use 
of  the  same  by  said  Department.  .  .  . 

Art.  4.  To  see  if  the  Town  will  grant  or  appropriate  a  sum  not  exceeding 
twenty-five  hundred  dollars  ($2500)  for  the  purchase  by  the  tree  warden 
of  a  new  tree  spraying  machine.  .  .  . 

Art.  5.  To  see  if  the  Town  will  authorize  its  Board  of  Park  Commissioners 
to  sell  and  dispose  of  two  of  the  unused  schoolhouses  placed  in  charge  of  the 
Park  Commission  some  years  ago.  .  .    . 

Art.  6.  To  see  if  the  Town  will  appropriate  the  sum  of  fifty-five  hundred 
dollars  ...  to  be  expended  under  the  direction  of  the  following  committee 
...  for  the  purpose  of  selecting  a  site,  location  and  erection  of  a  temporary 
memorial  tablet,  and  cause  to  be  inscribed  thereon  the  names  of  the  Fram- 
ingham soldiers,  sailors,  marines  .  .  .  and  nurses,  who  gave  their  lives  in 
the  late  war.  .  .  . 

Art.  8.  To  see  if  the  Town  will  vote  to  install  and  maintain  incandescent 
electric  hghts  on  following  named  streets.  .  .   . 

Art.  9.  To  see  if  the  Town  will  vote  to  raise  the  pay  of  its  Police  OflScers 
fifty  cents  a  day.  .  .  . 

Art.  10.    To  see  if  the  Town  will  vote  to  appoint  and  instruct  a  committee 
to  petition  the  County  Commissioners  to  relocate  Marble  Street.  .  .  . 
Art.  12.     To  see  if  the  Town  will  vote  to  appropriate  a  sum  ...  to  reim- 
burse Wellington  H.  Pratt  for  expenses  incurred  in  the  construction  of  a 
sewer  and  laying  of  water  pipes.  .  .  . 

And  you  are  directed  to  serve  this  warrant  by  posting  an  attested  copy 
of  the  same  at  each  of  the  Meeting  Houses  and  Post-Offices  in  said  Town, 
eight  days  at  least,  including  two  Sundays,  before  the  time  of  holding  said 
meeting. 


398  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

Hereof  fail  not,  and  make  due  return  of  this  warrant,  with  your  doing 
thereon,  to  the  Town  Clerk  at  the  time  and  place  of  said  meeting. 

Given  under  our  hands  this  first  day  of  July  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  nineteen. 

(Signed  by  the  Selectmen) 

It  has  been  said  that 

The  thing  most  characteristic  of  a  town  meeting  is  the  lively  and  educat- 
ing debate;    for  attendants  on  town  meeting  from  year  to  year  become 
skilled  in  parliamentary  law,  and  effective  in  sharp,  quick  ar- 
f   >i^  gument  on  their  feet.     Children  and  others  than  voters  are 

meeting  allowed  to  be  present  as  spectators.    In  every  such  assembly, 

four  or  five  men  ordinarily  do  half  the  talking ;  but  any- 
body has  a  right  to  make  suggestions  or  propose  amendments,  and  occa- 
sionally even  a  non- voter  is  allowed  to  make  a  statement ;  and  the  debate 
is  often  very  effective.^ 

Another  writer  says, 

The  retiring  officers  present  their  reports,  which  in  the  larger  towns  have 
been  previously  printed  and  distributed.  Any  citizen  present  is  free  to 
express  any  criticism  or  ask  any  question.  No  better  method  of  checking 
the  conduct  of  public  officers  has  ever  been  discovered  than  this  system  of 
report  in  open  meeting.  Keen  questions  and  sharp  comment  rip  open  and 
expose  to  view  the  true  inwardness  of  the  officers'  behavior. 

At  its  best,  the  New  England  town  meeting  has  never  been  equaled  as 
a  mechanism  for  local  government.  No  mere  representative  system  can 
give  the  opportunity  for  real  participation  in  government  which  a  town 
meeting  affords.  Even  the  small  boys  who  come  to  enjoy  the  fun  from  the 
gallery  are  taught  that  government  is  a  living  reality.  By  grappling  first- 
hand with  their  own  small  local  problems,  men  are  trained  to  take  part 
wisely  in  the  bigger  affairs  of  state  and  nation.^ 

Changing  conditions,  however,  have  tended  to  bring  about 

changes  in  town  government.     In  the  early  days 
^^cflkcnitisf  of 
government      the   town  meeting  was  a  matter  of  great  interest, 

by  town  a^d  everybody  attended,  including  the  women  and 

children.     Many  of  the  towns  have  now  acquired 

large  populations,  the  people  are   no  longer  acquainted  with 

1  Albert  Bushnell  Hart,  Actual  Government,  p.  171. 

*  Thomas  H.  Reed,  Form  and  Functions  of  American  Government,  pp.  218,  220. 


OUR  LOCAL  GOVERNMENTS  399 

one  another,  and  interest  has  dedined.    A  few  years  ago  it  was 

reported  that 

In  Brookline,  Mass.,  with  about  2500  votes  cast,  there  are  from  300 
to  500  at  the  business  sessions.  In  Hyde  Park,  Mass.,  with  2500  voters  .  .  . 
from  500  to  600  attended  the  annual  appropriation  meeting.  In  Leominster, 
Mass.,  with  1400  voting,  the  normal  attendance  is  about  800. 

The  same  writer  says  that 

In  many  places  the  town  meeting  is  being  undermined  by  the  caucus, 
held  beforehand,  to  nominate  candidates  for  ofl&ce.  Here  a  small  group 
of  persons  not  only  narrow  the  choice  for  officers,  but  often  arrange  the 
other  business  to  be  determined  at  the  town  meeting.  Sometimes  every- 
thing is  "cut  and  dried"  before  it  comes  up  for  popular  discussion ;  and  that 
discussion  thus  becomes  a  mere  formality .^ 

This   illustrates  what   was  said  in   the   preceding  chapter 
(p.  388)  about  the  necessity  for  leadership  and  the  tendency  of 
the  people,  under  certain  conditions,  to  accept  self-  influences 
appointed   leaders,    sometimes    not    of    the    best,   leading  to 
outside  of  the  government.     Conditions  in  large     ^^  ^^ 
towns  are  likely  to  favor  this.     The  questions  that  have  to  be 
acted  upon  are  more  complicated  than  formerly,  and  often 
involve  the  expenditure  of  large  sums  of  money.     The  candi- 
dates for  office  are  not  known  to  many  of  the  voters.     There 
may  be  a  considerable  number  of  uneducated  people  in  the  town, 
and  perhaps  a  foreign  population  that  is  unfamiliar  with  the 
English  language  and  with  American  methods.     These  things 
make  intelligent  self-government  by  direct  methods  difficult. 

Various  means  have  been  adopted  to  meet  these  changing 

conditions.     One  of  these  is  the  creation  of  a  finance  committee, 

before  which  are  brought  for  consideration  ques- 

1    •  1  T  !■  rr-M  •      "^^^  finance 

tions  mvolvmg  the  expenditure  of  money.     1  his  committee  a 

committee  holds  hearings,  at  which  citizens  may  means  of 

better  service 
present  arguments  for  and  against  proposed  meas- 
ures.    Thus  important  matters  are  sifted  out  by  the  committee 

1  J.  A.  Fairlie,  Local  Government  in  Counties,  Towns  and  Villages,  p.  148. 


400  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

which  then  reports  to  the  town  meeting.  The  town  meeting 
usually  votes  in  accordance  with  the  recommendations  of  the 
committee.  While  this  arrangement  tends  to  secure  careful 
consideration  of  financial  measures,  and  to  result  in  wise  deci- 
sions, provided  the  committee  is  composed  of  reliable  men,  it 
tends,  on  the  other  hand,  to  prevent  discussion  in  open  town 
meeting,  to  make  the  vote  in  the  latter  a  mere  matter  of  form, 
and  to  destroy  interest  in  it.  In  other  words,  while  it  tends  to 
better  service,  it  reduces  the  value  of  the  town  meeting  as  a 
means  of  education  for  democracy. 

Another  arrangement  that  has  been  adopted  in  a  good  many 
towns  is  the  town  planning  board.  This  is  a  committee  which, 
Town  after  careful  study  of  existing  conditions  and  tend- 

planning  encies  of  community  growth,  formulates  a  definite 

plan  for  the  promotion  of  the  community's  interests  during  a 
period  of  years.  It  considers  such  matters  as  the  laying  out  of 
new  roads  and  streets  and  the  improvement  of  old  ones,  the 
location  of  parks,  playgrounds,  and  public  buildings,  the  con- 
struction of  sewers,  water  works,  and  lighting  systems,  the 
style  of  architecture  for  public  buildings,  the  enactment  of 
housing  laws.  While  town  planning  boards  usually  deal  pri- 
marily with  matters  pertaining  to  the  physical  development 
of  the  town,  they  may  also  plan  with  reference  to  the  improve- 
ment of  the  educational  system,  the  promotion  of  public  health, 
and  of  social  needs  generally. 

The  town  planning  board  is  usually  composed  of  trained  men, 
such  as  engineers,  architects,  and  physicians,  and  it  may  call  in 
expert  advisers  from  other  communities  or  from  the  state  gov- 
ernment. The  advantage  of  having  such  a  board  is  that  it 
provides  the  town  with  a  program  of  action  carefully  worked 
out  from  the  point  of  view  both  of  continuous  community  needs 
and  of  economy.     It  affords  expert  leadership. 

As  has  been  said  many  times  in  these  pages,  government  is 
the  community's  official  organization  to  secure  cooperation; 


OUR  LOCAL   GOVERNMENTS  401 

but  it  is  effective  only  to  the  extent  that  the  people  cooperate. 
It  is  a  machine  that  is  valuable  as  the  people  use  it.     The 
weakening  of  town  government,  or  of  any  other  „     ,  , 
government,  is  due  largely  to  a  lack  of  interest   citizen 
and    of     actual     participation     by     the     people,   cooperation 
Many    people    think    they    have    done    their    share    toward 
good  government  when  they  have  helped  elect  their  officers 
and  have  paid  their  taxes.     But  when   they   take   this  view 
they  are  likely  to  lose  both  interest  in  their  government  and 
control  over  it. 

In  many  New  England  towns  the  decline  in  popular  control 
of   town   government   has   been   largely   counterbalanced   by 
community  organization  for  voluntary  cooperation.   ^  . 
Much  community  service  is,  and  probably  always   community 
will  be,  performed  by  private  enterprise  and  initi-   o^'g^'^zation 
ative  rather  than  by  government    (see  p.   376) ;   and   the  ef- 
ficiency of  government  depends  to  a  considerable  extent  upon 
the  efficiency  of  voluntary  enterprise.     Government  must  have 
the  co5peration  of  the  latter,  and  to  some  extent  work  through 
it.     In  practically  every  community  there  are  groups  of  people 
organized  to  cooperate  for  one  purpose  or  another;  but  they 
are  often  self-centered  and  act  independently  of  one  another, 
if  not  actually  at  cross  purposes.     The  situation  that  exists 
in  many  communities  is  illustrated  by  the  chart  on  page  402.  ^ 

In  a  good  many  Massachusetts  towns  this  situation  has  been 

very  largely  remedied  by  means  of  community  organization  for 

which  the  leadership  has  been  provided  in  many 

cases  by  the  Community  Organization  Department   organization 

of  the  Extension  Service  of  the  State  Agricultural   »"  Massa- 

cliusctts 
College.      The    organization  varies    in    detail    in 

different    communities    to    meet    local    needs,    but    the    main 

features  are  the  following : 

1  This  chart  and  the  one  on  page  403  are  taken  from  Extension  Bulletin  No.  23, 
Massachusetts  Agricultural  College,  by  E.  L.  Morgan. 


402 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


First :  a  community  council,  consisting  of  representatives  of  the  various 
community  interests  and  organizations  including  the  town  officials.  This 
council  serves  at  first  as  a  sort  of  "steering  committee"  to  bring  the 
various  interests  together  and  to  plan  the  organization  and  the  work 
to  be  done. 


What  One  Community  Found  ^ 
Organizations  self-centered. 

Second :  a  community  meeting,  the  first  one  of  which  is  called  by  the 
community  council  to  consider  the  questions :  Is  it  possible  for  a  com- 
munity to  plan  for  its  future  development?  Do  we  care  to  do  it?  Is  it 
worth  while?  How  can  it  be  done?  The  community  meeting  becomes  a 
sort  of  unofficial  town  meeting,  and  is  often  more  largely  attended  than  the 

'  From  "  Mobilizing  a  Rural  Community,"  by  E.  L.  Morga%  Extension  Bulletin 
No.  23,  Mass.  Agricultural  College. 


OUR  LOCAL  GOVERNMENTS 


403 


official  town  meeting,  partly  because  it  is  attended  by  the  women  of  the 
community. 

Third  :  a  number  of  working  committees,  appointed  as  a  result  of  the  first 
community  meeting.     They  may  include 

A  committee  on  farm  production 


\Women'5 
V^roupll 


Improvcmoify 
.Assoc  iaf  ion/ 


public  School       PuMcOfficiib 


What  This  Community  Now  Has^ 
A  longer  term  program. 

A  committee  on  conservation 
A  committee  on  boys'  and  girls'  interests 
A  committee  on  farm  business 

A  committee  on  community  life  (education,  health,  recreation,  etc.) 
1  Adapted  from  "Mobilizing  a  Rural  Community." 


404  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

These  committees  make  a  study  of  the  conditions  and  needs  of  the  com- 
munity in  their  respective  fields,  and  prepare  plans  and  projects,  which 
are  submitted  to  the  community  meeting  in  due  time. 

Fourth :  a  community  program,  which  has  been  agreed  upon  by  the  com- 
munity meeting,  is  supervised  by  the  community  council,  and  is  carried  out 
by  the  various  community  organizations  represented,  including  the  public 
ofl5cials. 


The  result  is  an  organized  community  somewhat  as  suggested 
by  the  second  chart,  on  page  403. 

This  organization  is  entirely  outside  of  the  official  govern- 
mental organization.  It  may  be  asked  why  it  is  necessary  to 
Official  and  have  a  "community  meeting"  when  the  official 
unofficial  town  meeting  already  exists.     The  answer  is  that 

earn  wor  ^j^^  official  town  meeting  has  its  work  pretty  defi- 

nitely cut  out  for  it.  It  meets  for  a  half-day  or  a  day  at  a  time, 
and  its  time  is  occupied  by  the  voters  in  passing  laws,  electing 
officials,  levying  taxes,  making  appropriations,  and  doing  other 
official  business.  The  "  community  meeting,"  on  the  other  hand, 
is  attended  by  non- voters  as  well  as  voters,  the  women  taking  an 
active  part,  and  the  young  people  being  represented.  Many 
matters  are  discussed  that  could  not  properly  be  taken  up  in 
town  meeting. 

A  large  part  of  the  program  of  the  community  organization  is 
carried  out  by  the  voluntary  agencies  of  the  community.  But  a 
great  many  of  its  proposals  must  have  the  approval  of  the 
official  town  meeting,  require  appropriations  which  can  only  be 
made  by  the  town  meeting,  and  are  finally  executed  by  the 
public  officials  of  the  town.  The  organization  naturally  stim- 
ulates interest  in  the  official  government,  and  brings  to  its 
support  all  the  organized  agencies  of  the  community  working 
together. 

The  township  is  found  as  a  unit  of  local  government  in  many 
states  outside  of  New  England,  but  in  most  of  these  cases  its 
government   is   entirely   representative   in   form.     While  the 


OUR  LOCAL   GOVERNMENTS  405 

town  meeting  is  found  in  a  few  of  these  states/  it  nowhere 

holds  the  important  place  that  it  does  in  New  England.     One 

reason  for  this  is  the  larger  size  and  more  scattered   _ 

1  •  T        1  1  1-     1       J    Township 

population  of  the  township.     In  the  public  land   government 

states  the  congressional  township  (see  p.  105),  six  outside  of 

.      ,        ,  ,.  .     ,  1  .  *       1       New  England 

miles  square,  is  also  the  poutical  township.     At  the 

head  of  the  township  government  in  its  representative  form  are 
trustees  (sometimes  three,  sometimes  only  one)  who,  with  the 
town  clerk,  the  constables,  the  tax  assessor,  the  treasurer,  the 
justices  of  the  peace,  and  such  other  officers  as  may  be  required, 
are  elected  by  the  people.  The  powers  of  the  township  govern- 
ment outside  of  New  England  vary  in  different  states,  but  are 
always  quite  limited,  relating  most  commonly  to  the  mainte- 
nance of  roads,  school  administration,  and  the  care  of  the  poor. 
In  these  circumstances  there  is  at  least  as  great  need  for  com- 
munity organization  to  support  and  supplement  the  work  of 
government  as  in  the  New  England  towns. 

Investigate  and  report  on  the  following : 

The  services  performed  by  your  township  government. 

A  complete  Hst  of  your  township  ofiicers,  and  the  duties  of  each.  (Com- 
mittees of  pupils  may  interview  some  of  the  more  important  oflScers  to  get 
a  description  of  their  daily  routine,  kinds  of  service  performed,  etc.  Also 
discuss  with  parents.) 

Officers  of  the  colonial  New  England  town  that  do  not  exist  now,  and 
their  duties. 

What  is  parliamentary  law?  (Valuable  training  may  be  secured  by 
conducting  school  meetings,  club  meetings,  or  occasional  regular  class  exer- 
cises, in  accordance  with  parliamentary  procedure.) 

Why  public  discussion  is  a  check  upon  the  conduct  of  persons  holding 
responsible  positions. 

The  popular  interest  in  public  questions  in  your  township. 

If  there  is  a  finance  committee  in  your  township  (p.  399),  how  does 
it  serve  the  community  ?  Does  it  hold  iiearings  ?  (Attend  and  report  upon 
some  such  hearing.) 

1  As  in  New  York  and  New  Jersey ;  and  farther  west  in  Michigan,  Wisconsin, 
Minnesota,  the  Dakotas,  Illinois,  and  Nebraska. 


4o6  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Town  planning  in  your  community  (what  has  been,  or  what  might  be, 
done). 

The  value  of  having  a  plan. 

Is  your  community  more  like  that  represented  by  the  chart  on  page  402, 
or  by  that  on  page  403  ? 

The  extent  to  which  voluntary  organizations  in  your  community  co- 
operate with  and  through  the  local  government. 

The  extent  to  which  your  state  agricultural  college  promotes  community 
organization. 

The  feasibility  of  organizing  your  town  (or  community)  by  some  such  plan 
as  that  outlined  on  page  402. 

The  value  of  a  community  "forum"  as  a  means  to  good  government. 

Why  the  official  town  meeting  should  (or  should  not)  be  encouraged  in 
your  state. 

Procure  and  examine  recently  published  official  reports  of  your  tov/nship 
government.  What  do  these  reports  tell  you  ?  What  is  the  value  of  such 
reports?  Are  the  reports  of  your  township  generally  read  by  the  people  of 
the  township?  Why?  Discuss  ways  in  which  your  township  reports  could 
be  made  more  useful. 

The  other  unit  of  local  government  with  which  the  colonists 
were  familiar  was  the  county,  which  in  England  embraced  a 

number  of  townships.  In  the  colonies  of  New 
The  county         tr     ^  i  t->  i         •       i 

York  and  Pennsylvania  the  county  and  the  town- 
ship were  developed  together  as  in  England ;  in  the  southern 
colonies  the  county  was  organized  without  the  township. 
To-day  the  county  exists  in  every  state  of  the  Union,  including 
the  New  England  states.  In  Louisiana  it  is  called  the  parish. 
There  are  two  main  types  of  county  government.  According 
to  one  plan,  as  in  New  York,  each  township  elects  a  represen- 
Tvoes  of  tative  to  a  county  board  of  supervisors,  which  is 

county  sometimes  quite  large.     According   to   the  other 

governmen  plan,  as  in  Pennsylvania,  the  people  of  the  county 
as  a  whole  elect  a  small  board  of  commissioners,  the  townships 
not  being  represented  as  such  even  when  they  exist.  The 
board  of  supervisors  or  commissioners  levies  taxes  and  makes 
appropriations  for  various  county  purposes,  such  as  constructing 
and  maintaining  roads,  bridges,  and  county  buildings,  paying 


OUR  LOCAL   GOVERNMENTS  407 

the  salaries  of  county  officers,  caring  for  the  county  poor,  and 
conducting  the  county  schools.  It  is  sometimes  spoken  of  as 
the  county  legislative  body,  but  it  is  rather  an  administrative 
body,  its  lawmaking  powers  being  very  slight. 

Among  the  important  county  officers  are  the  sheriff,  who  is 
chief  guardian  of  the  peace  in  the  county,  has  charge  of  the 


Faiiufax  Court  House,  Virginia  » 

The  monument  in  front  commemorates  the  first  soldier  killed  in  the  Civil  War. 

jail,  is  the  chief  executive  officer  of  the  county  court  (see 
p.  439),  and  sometimes  acts  as  tax  collector;  the  county 
county  prosecutor  (also  called  the  prosecuting  officers 
attorney,  the  district  attorney,  or  the  state's  attorney),  who 
prosecutes  all  criminal  cases  in  the  county  and  represents  the 
public  authorities  in  civil  suits ;  the  county  clerk,  who  keeps 
the  county  records ;  the  register  of  deeds,  who  records  all  trans- 
fers of  property;  the  coroner,  who  investigates  the  cause  of 
violent  and  mysterious  deaths ;  the  tax  assessor ;  the  treasurer ; 
the  auditor,  who  examines  the  accounts  of  county  officers ;  the 


4o8  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

surveyor ;  the  school  superintendent ;  the  health  officer.  Some- 
times there  are  others. 

Although  practically  every  citizen  of  the  United  States  is  also 
a  citizen  of  a  county,  the  people  have  as  a  rule  shown  surpris- 
ingly little  interest  in  county    government.     As 

Lflclc  of 

interest  in  generally  found  it  affords  a  striking  example  of 
county  poor  service  resulting  from  a  lack  of  team  work. 

County  government  has  the  reputation  of  being  one 
of  the  weakest  spots  in  our  whole  system  of  government. 

We  seem  to  have  got  into  the  habit  of  not  expecting  much 
service  from  the  county  government.  Where  the  township 
Will  nt  government  is  strong,  as  in  New  England,  it 
government  takes  the  place  of  county  government.  Where 
survive .  people  live  in  cities,  they  look  to  the  city  govern- 

ment to  serve  them  rather  than  to  the  county  government.  In 
rural  districts  the  people  have  come  more  and  more  to  look  to 
the  state  and  national  governments  for  such  service  as  they 
expect  government  to  give.  These  facts  might  suggest  the 
question  whether  or  not  we  really  need  county  government. 

One  recent  writer  says. 

There  are  some  parts  of  the  country  where  I  can  see  that  the  county 
will  pass  out  of  existence  entirely  in  a  very  short  time,  unless  it  does  adjust 
itself  to  the  new  conditions.^ 

The  same  writer  says, 

Unless  the  county  does  measure  up  in  this  way,  the  powers  of  government 
and  the  services  which  it  renders  will  have  to  drift  away  from  local  control 
and  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  some  government  more  fit  and  which  will 
probably  be  further  away  from  home. 

Students  of  county  government  attribute  many  of  its  defects 
Effects  of  the  to  the  "long  ballot"  (see  p.  388).  In  one  county 
long  ballot  [^  North  Carolina,  at  a  recent  election,  there  were 
twenty-five   different   candidates   for   county  offices  on  each 

1  H.  S.  Gilbertson,  in  the  University  of  North  Carolina  Record,  No.  159,  October, 
1918,  p.  37. 


OUR  LOCAL  GOVERNMENTS 


409 


of  three  party  tickets,  making  seventy-five  candidates  among 
whom  each  voter  had  to  choose.  Township  and  state  officers 
were  also  elected  at  the  same  election,  bringing  the  number  of 
persons  to  be  voted  for  up  to  about  fifty  out  of  150  candidates. 


Court  House,  Detroit,  Mich. 

It  is  apparent  that  the  average  voter  would  have  difficulty  in 
voting  intelligently. 

The  long  ballot  has  other  results  than  the  mere  difficulty  of 
intelligent  voting.     One  of  these  is  a  government  Government 
without  a  head.     While  the  board  of  supervisors  or  without  a 
commissioners  is  nominally  at  the  head  of  the  county 
government,  it  has  to  work  through  the  various  administrative 


41 0  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

ofl&cers.  These  are  also  elected  by  the  people,  and  may  be  of 
the  opposite  political  party.  At  all  events,  they  are  inde- 
pendent of  the  board,  not  responsible  to  it,  and  may  or  may 
not  work  in  harmony  with  it.  A  former  member  of  a  county 
board  in  Noi  th  Carolina  says, 

Most  persons  are  under  the  impression  that  the  board  of  commissioners, 
with  its  chairman,  is  at  the  head  of  the  county  government.  .  .  .  The 
board  does  have  authority  to  say  how  about  19  cents  of  the  entire  tax  levy 
may  be  spent,  but  its  authority  over  the  balance  of  the  levy,  over  any 
county  official,  such  as  the  sheriff,  clerk  of  the  court,  coroner,  constable, 
county  judge,  or  recorder,  is  nil.  The  chairman  of  the  board  does  have  the 
honor  .  of  smiling  and  trying  to  look  pleasant  when  complaints  are  made 
about  bad  roads,  excessive  tax  assessments,  or  the  delinquency  of  some 
county  subordinate,  over  whom  neither  he  nor  the  board  has  any  control.^ 

Another  result  of  the  long  ballot  is  the  opportunity  it  gives 

the  political  "boss"  to  control  the  selection  of  officers  (see  p. 

^,  ^87).     It  is  not  imcommon  to  hear  rural  citizens 

The  oppor-         >^    ' ' 

tunity  of  the  ask  such  questions  as,  "What's  the  use  of  farmers 
"  ''"^^  "  taking  off  time  for  politics  when  the  whole  thing  is 

run  by  political  bosses  anyway?"  ^  "In  such  counties  office- 
seeking  has  become  not  the  means  to  the  end  of  performing 
service,  but  exists  for  the  immediate  reward,  and  whatever 
service  is  rendered  to  the  people  is  incidental  to  that  other 
object.  "3 

Along  with  these  defects,  and  largely  because  of  them,  bad 
business  methods  have  characterized  county  government,  re- 
Bad  business  suiting  in  poor  service  and  wastefulness  of  the 
methods  people's    money.     A    faulty    system    of    keeping 

accounts  is  as  unbusinesslike  and  disastrous  in  public  business 
as  in  private  business. 

1  M.  S.  Willard,  North  Carolina  Club  Year  Book,  1918,  p.  87. 

2  Graham  Taylor,  in  Rural  Manhood,  October,  1914,  p.  328. 

3  H.  S.  Gilbertson,  Forms  of  County  Government,  in  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  Record,  No.  159,  October,  1918,  p.  37. 


OUR  LOCAL  GOVERNMENTS  41 1 

When  I  was  first  connected  with  the  government  of  my  own  county,  I 
became  very  much  interested  to  know  whether  we  were  doing  better  or 
worse  in  the  management  of  our  road  finances;  in  the  cost  of  maintaining 
our  county  prisoners ;  in  the  maintenance  of  our  county  home  and  numer- 
ous other  county  institutions,  than  were  other  counties.  I  was  anxious  to 
find  out  what  was  being  done  in  other  counties  in  the  way  of  appropriations 
for  hospitals  and  I  selected  twelve  or  fifteen  counties  and  wrote  letters  to 
the  county  officials  asking  for  information.  In  answer  to  probably  two  of 
my  letters  I  received  intelligent  and  satisfactory  replies.  Probably  half 
a  dozen  more  gave  me  some  figures  which  were  of  very  little  use  for  purposes 
of  comparison,  and  to  my  other  letters  I  received  no  replies,  although  the 
first  request  was  followed  up  by  a  second  and  a  third  letter.  I  then  began 
an  effort  to  secure  copies  of  the  newspapers  in  which  had  been  printed  the 
financial  statements  of  the  counties.  I  succeeded  in  securing  probably  ten 
statements  and,  after  a  fruitless  attempt  to  coordinate  these  statements  so 
that  I  might  secure  information  which  would  enable  me  to  know  whether 
we  were  doing  better  or  worse  than  our  neighbors,  I  became  hopelessly 
lost  in  a  jungle  of  statistics  and  reluctantly  gave  it  up  as  useless,  and  turned 
my  attention  to  doing  what  I  could  to  place  our  own  county  affairs  in  such 
condition  that  they  could  be  understood  by  those  of  our  taxpayers  who  might 
be  inquisitive  enough  to  want  to  know  how  the  money  was  handled  which 
they  paid  for  taxes.' 

The  practice  of  compensating  county  officers  from  fees  re- 
ceived for  special  services  and  of  allowing  them  to  -phe  fee 
retain  the  interest  on  public  money  is  one   illus-  system 
tration  of  extravagant  business  methods. 

For  many  of  the  services  performed  by  county  ofiicers  fees  are  charged, 
on  the  principle  that  the  person  served  should  pay  for  the  service.  It  did 
not  occur  to  the  people  to  inquire  how  much  their  officers  were  getting  in 
this  way.  In  one  county,  in  which  there  was  a  large  city,  investigation 
showed  that  the  sheriff  had  a  net  income  from  fees  and  commissions  of  $15,- 
CX50,  the  county  treasurer  $23,000,  and  the  county  auditor  over  $50,000. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  economy  and  efficiency  it  is  better  to  pay  all 
officers  an  adequate  salary  and  to  require  that  all  fees,  commissions,  and 
interest  on  public  money  be  returned  to  the  county  treasury.  It  keeps  the 
tax  rate  down  and  makes  possible  an  increase  of  service. 

1  M.  S.  Willard,  County  Finances  in  North  Carolina,  in  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  Record,  No.  159,  October,  1918,  p.  80. 


412  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

The  county  office  fees  and  commissions  in  North  Carolina  amount  to 
something  like  one  and  a  quarter  million  dollars  a  year,  if  they  are  collected 
according  to  law.  The  total  is  large  enough  to  pay  all  salaries  in  at  least 
58  counties  of  the  state,  and  leave  large  balances  to  apply  to  schools,  roads, 
jail  expenses,  interest,  and  sinking  funds.  These  large  surpluses  are  being 
wasted  in  most  of  the  salary  counties.^ 

Such  faulty  business  methods  are  gradually  being  corrected 
by  the  introduction  of  the  short  ballot,  as  in  California  and 
elsewhere,  by  businesslike  methods  of  keeping  accounts,  by  the 
appointment  of  county  and  state  auditors,  and  by  giving  full 
publicity  to  reports  of  county  business. 

"But  after  all,"  says  the  county  official  quoted  above,  "a 
great  part  of  the  shortcomings  of  county  officials  and  a  great 
Th   f    It  ^^^^  *^^  ^^^  looseness  which  prevails  in  the  man- 

with  the  agement  of  county  affairs  can  be  charged  to  the 

citizen  people  themselves."     Another  student  of  the  sit- 

uation says. 

Among  the  country  people  themselves  there  is  no  demand  for  better 
local  government  or  almost  none ;  they  are  satisfied  or  content  themselves 
with  grumbling  about  taxes  and  in  fierce  partisan  politics.  .  .  .  The  country 
people  of  America  lack  an  adequate  sense  of  civic  and  social  responsibility, 
and  the  deficiency  is  rising  into  critical,  national  importance.^ 

Another  says, 

The  first  thing  to  be  reformed  in  county  government  is  not  the  officers 
down  at  the  courthouse,  but  our  own  attitude  toward  the  county,  and  par- 
ticularly toward  public  office.  For,  after  all,  public  officers  in  this  country 
are  just  what  the  people  make  them  .  .  .' 

There  are  those  who  advocate  breaking  up  the  county  into 
smaller  units  for  purposes  of  local  self-government,  as  in  New 

1  E.  C.  Branson,  The  Fee  System  in  North  Carolina,  in  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  Record,  No.  159,  October,  1918,  p.  69. 

2  E.  C.  Branson,  Report  of  sub-committee  on  local  government,  National  Country 
Life  Conference,  Baltimore  Proceedings,  1919,  pp.  68,  69. 

'  H.  S.  Gilbertson,  Forms  of  County  Government,  in  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  Record,  No.  159,  October,  1918,  p.  38. 


OUR  LOCAL  GOVERNMENTS  413 

England.    Thomas  Jefferson,  living  in  Virginia  where  the  county 

was  the  sole  unit  of  local  government,  was  a  great  admirer  of 

the  New  England   town  meeting,  and  said  that 

7  1-    •  •  r      1       Relation  of 

"pubHc   education    and    the    subdivision    of    the  the  local 

counties  into  wards,"  or  townships,  were  the  "two   community  to 

the  county 

hooks"  upon  which  republican  government  must 
hang.  On  the  other  hand,  we  have  observed  an  opposite 
tendency  to  concentrate  the  administration  of  schools,  roads, 
health,  and  other  matters,  in  the  county  government  (see  pp. 
294,  325).  The  fact  is  that  both  the  organization  for  centralized, 
county-wide  government,  and  that  for  the  government  of  local 
communities  within  the  county,  have  their  uses.  Neither  can 
do  its  best  work  without  the  other.  The  problem  is  to  deter- 
mine what  the  business  of  each  should  be  and  to  establish  a 
proper  balance  between  them.  One  thing  is  sure,  namely, 
that  the  government  of  the  county  cannot  be  effective  unless 
the  people  of  the  various  communities  within  the  county  are 
organized  to  cooperate  both  for  their  local  interests  and  for  the 
interests  of  the  county  as  a  whole.  This  may  be  provided  for 
in  part  through  township  governments,  where  they  exist,  and  in 
part  through  such  unofficial  organization  as  that  described  for 
the  New  England  town  (p.  402),  or  as  that  furnished  by  the 
farm  bureau  with  its  local  community  committees  (p.  30). 

One  of  the  most  progressive  states  in  the  matter  of  county  government 
is  North  Carolina.  One  of  the  chief  instruments  by  which  this  progress 
has  been  made  is  the  North  Carolina  Club,  organized  by  the  University  of 
North  CaroHna  for  the  study  and  promotion  of  the  interests  of  the  state. 
The  North  Carolina  Club  has  affiliated  with  it  county  clubs,  each  of  which 
studies  its  own  county  and  promotes  its  interests.  In  North  Carolina  they 
are  working  in  both  directions  suggested  above :  in  the  direction  of  an  effec- 
tive central  county  government,  and  in  the  direction  of  organization  of  all 
local  communities  for  the  study  of  needs  and  for  team  work  in  providing  for 
them.     See  references. 

Another  important  factor  in  county  government  is  the  control 
exercised  over  it  by  the  state.     The  county  is  not  only  a  local 


414  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

self-governing  unit,  but  it  is  also  a  division  of  the  state  for  the 

administration  of  state  laws.     Its  powers  of  self-government 

are  given  to  it  by  the  state,  and  along  with  these 
The  county  ^      .    ,        .      "^        ,  .  .      ,      .       ,         , 

as  a  sub-  powers  it  has  miposed  upon  it  certain  duties  for  the 

division  of  state.  First  of  all,  the  county  is  a  state  judicial 
the  state 

district.      The   most   important   building   at    the 

county  seat  is  the  courthouse.     The  county  court  is  one  of  the 

state  courts  described  in  the  next  chapter.     The  county  judge 

is  sometimes  chosen  by  the  people  of  the  county,  but  he  is  really 

a  state  officer.     In  New  England  the  county  is  almost  solely  a 

judicial  district,  and  in  all  states  its  judicial  purposes  are  of 

supreme  importance. 

But  more  than  this,  the  county  schools  are  a  part  of  the  state 
school  system  and  must  be  administered  in  accordance  with 
state  laws,  though  by  county  and  township  officers.  County 
officers  must  enforce  the  health  laws  of  the  state.  County 
authorities  not  only  levy  and  collect  county  taxes,  but  also 
collect  state  taxes  from  residents  of  the  county. 

Here  again  we  have  an  illustration  of  the  necessity  for  a  care- 
ful balance  between  matters  properly  subject  to  local  self- 
-.,  .      government  and  those  properly  subject  to  state 

for  state  control.     Counties  have   suffered  both   from   too 

contro  n^uch  state  control  in  some  respects,  and  from  too 

little  in  others. 

The  whole  state  is  injured  ...  if  one  township  lets  its  citizenship 
deteriorate  through  ignorance  or  drunkenness,  and  so  the  state  has  a  right 
to  say  that  at  least  six  months  school  term  must  be  given  in  every  township 
and  that  no  whiskey-selling  shall  be  permitted.  Or  if  one  township  is  in- 
fested with  cattle  ticks,  other  townships  are  injured,  and  so  the  state  may 
set  a  minimum  standard  here  .  .  . 

It  often  happens  that  the  citizens  of  one  county  pay  more  than 
their  share  of  the  state  taxes  because  it  has  better  methods  of 
assessing  and  collecting  taxes  and  of  keeping  accounts  than  other 
counties  in  the  state.     One  of  the  greatest  needs  of  counties,  and 


OUR  LOCAL  GOVERNMENTS  4^5 

one  least  provided  for,  is  uniformity  among  the  counties  of  a 
state  in  methods  of  keeping  accounts  (see  example  on  page 
410).  Some  states  have  established  state  systems  of  auditing 
county  finances. 

On  the  other  hand,  state  governments  often  interfere  in 
matters  that  might  better  be  left  to  local  determination.  Usu- 
ally all  the  counties  of  a  state  have  exactly  the  ^g-^j^g 
same  form  of  government,  with  exactly  the  same  rule  "  for 
officers  who  exercise  exactly  the  same  duties.  Yet 
some  counties  within  a  state  are  almost  wholly  rural,  some  are 
almost  wholly  urban,  others  are  mixed  in  character.  A  form 
of  government  adapted  to  one  may  not  be  suited  to  another. 
So  there  has  arisen  a  demand  for  a  larger  degree  of  "home 
rule"  in  counties.  In  Illinois,  counties  have  had  the  right  to 
determine  for  themselves  whether  the  township  should  or 
should  not  be  given  prominence  in  local  government,  and 
whether  the  "supervisor"  or  the  "commissioner"  plan  of 
government  should  be  used.  California  now  has  a  law  which 
provides  that  counties  may  apply  for  "charters"  in  the  same 
way  that  cities  do  in  all  states.  The  "charter,"  like  a  con- 
stitution, determines  the  form  and  powers  of  the  government, 
and  is  framed  by  the  people  of  the  county  themselves,  though 
it  must  then  have  the  approval  of  the  state  legislature. 

We  have  noted  how  the  growth  of  cities  with  their  elaborate 
organization  for  service  tends  to  divert  attention  from  the  less 
conspicuous  county  government.  While  probably  ^.^^  growth  of 
half  the  counties  of  the  United  States  contain  no  urban  com- 
city,  or  "town,"  or  village  of  2500  people,  there  is  ™"'"*'^^ 
in  almost  every  township  at  least  one  compact  settlement  that 
has  grown  up  around  the  trading  center.  Sometimes  there  are 
several  of  them  in  a  township  and  many  in  a  county.  In  such 
compact  communities  cooperation  becomes  necessary  to  provide 
for  needs  that  are  not  felt  in  more  rural  districts,  such  as  paved 
streets,  sewers,  pubUc  water  supply,  fire  and  police  protection, 


41 6  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

and  so  on.  A  separate  government  becomes  necessary.  The 
people  of  such  communities  may  appeal  to  the  authorities 
of  township,  county,  or  state,  for  incorporation  as  a  village, 
borough,  town,  or  city.  "Village"  and  "borough"  are  simply 
two  names  used  in  different  localities  for  the  same  thing.  The 
difference  between  them  and  an  incorporated  town  or  city 
is  principally  one  of  size  and  corresponding  complexity  of 
organization. 

The  chief  governing  body  of  a  village,  or  borough,  or  incor- 
porated town,  is  a  small  council,  or  board,  elected  by  the  people. 
Government  ^^  ^^^  legislative  powers  in  a  small  way,  enacting 
of  villages  and  ordinances  for  the  regulation  of  local  officers  and  in 
incorporated       ,i  i  i-     •    i         4. 

towns  ^^^  public  interest. 

In  Michigan  .  .  .  they  may  prescribe  the  terms  and  conditions  for  licens- 
ing taverns,  peddlers,  and  public  vehicles.  They  have  control  of  streets, 
bridges  and  public  grounds;  and  have  authority  to  construct  bridges  and 
pavements,  and  to  regulate  the  use  and  prevent  the  obstruction  of  the  high- 
ways.^ They  may  establish  and  maintain  sevi^ers  and  drains.  They  may 
construct  and  control  public  wharves,  and  regulate  and  license  ferries.  They 
may  establish  and  regulate  markets.  They  may  provide  a  police  force  and 
a  fire  department.  They  may  construct  or  purchase  and  operate  water 
works  and  lighting  plants.  They  may  own  cemeteries,  public  ponds,  public 
buildings  and  parks.^ 

The  council  also  has  limited  power  to  levy  taxes  and  to  borrow 
money  for  public  purposes. 

There  is  a  chief  executive  officer,  sometimes  called  mayor, 
sometimes  president,  or  by  other  names.  Subordinate  to  him 
are  various  other  officers,  such  as  the  police  marshal,  the  street 
commissioner,  fire  marshal,  tax  assessor,  treasurer,  clerk,  and 
so  on.  In  larger  villages  boards  of  health  and  other  boards 
and  commissions  exist  to  administer  various  forms  of  public 
service.  The  village  may  also  have  its  minor  court  presided 
over  by  a  justice  of  the  peace. 

When  villages  or  towns  reach  a  certain  population  usually 

*  John  A.  Fairlie,  Local  Government  in  Counties,  Towns,  and  Villages,  pp.  207,  208. 


OUR  LOCAL  GOVERNMENTS  417 

fixed  by  state  law,  they  may  be  incorporated  as  cities.     The 
change  that  takes  place  is  simply  one  of  elaborating  the  gov- 
erning machinery  and  giving  to  it  larger  powers  to  correspond 
with  the  larger  needs  of  city  life.     The  complex   city  govem- 
problems  of  city  government  we  shall  not  attempt  ™®°* 
to  study  in  this  book. 

Great  improvement  in  the  government  of  towns  and  cities 
has  been  made  in  recent  years.     The  latest  plan  of  government 
to  be  adopted,  and  it  has  spread  to  a  considerable   djanggg  jn 
number  of  towns  and  cities  in  the  United  States,   urban  govern- 
is  the  city  manager,  or  town  manager,  form  of  gov-  ^^^\^  ^service 
ernment.     By  this  plan  the  voters  elect  a  small  and  better 
council,  or  board  of  directors,  who  in  turn  appoint   *^°°  ^'^ 
a  manager  who  serves  as  a  superintendent  over  the  affairs  of 
the  city  or  town.     He  is  a  trained  specialist,  often  an  engineer, 
and  cities  and  towns  sometimes  search  the  country  over  for  the 
best  man  available  for  the  place.     The  manager  appoints  the 
heads  of  the  various  departments  of  government,  such  as  health, 
police,  public  works,  etc.,  and  is  responsible  to  the  council  for 
their  work.     It  is  the  application  to  town  government  of  methods 
long  used  by  successful  business  corporations. 

Investigate  and  report  upon : 

How  the  county  in  Louisiana  came  to  be  called  a  "parish." 

Organization  and  powers  of  your  county  board. 

A  list  of  your  county  ofi&cers  and  their  duties. 

The  sentiment  in  your  county  with  regard  to  the  efl&ciency  of  your  county 
government.     Is  the  sentiment  justified  ? 

Recognised  defects  in  your  county  government. 

The  long  (or  short)  ballot  in  your  county. 

Extent  to  which  the  people  of  your  county  study  the  reports  of  your 
county  government  (consult  at  home  and  with  older  friends). 

What  do  you  find  of  interest  in  your  county  reports  ? 

Are  reports  of  your  county  published  in  the  newspapers?  Do  you 
understand  them?     Ask  your  father  to  explain  them  to  you. 

Extent  to  which  your  county  board  exercises  control  over  other  county 
officers. 


41 8  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

Extent  to  which  the  farmers  of  your  county  interest  themselves  in  politics 

Whether  or  not  the  experience  of  the  officer  quoted  on  page  410  could 
be  duplicated  in  your  state. 

The  fee  system  in  your  county. 

How  and  why  public  officers  "are  just  what  the  people  make  them." 

The  meaning  of  Jefferson's  remark  that  "public  education  and  the  sub- 
division of  counties  into  wards  are  the  two  hooks  upon  which  republican 
government  must  hang"  (p.  412). 

The  feasibility  of  a  "county  club"  in  your  county  similar  to  those  in 
North  Carolina  (p.  413). 

The  balance  between  county  government  and  township  government  in 
your  county. 

State  control  of  your  county  government  —  too  much,  or  too  little? 
Explain. 

Difference  between  a  charter  and  a  constitution. 

Number  of  incorporated  towns  and  cities  in  your  county. 

Cooperation  (or  friction)  between  urban  and  rural  districts  in  your 
county. 

Organization  of  village,  borough,  or  town  government  in  your  county. 

Difference  between  the  "town"  as  referred  to  in  the  last  part  of  this 
chapter  and  the  "town"  as  described  in  the  first  part. 

Services  in  incorporated  towns  and  villages  in  your  county  that  are  not 
performed  by  the  county  or  township  governments  for  rural  residents. 

How  a  village  or  town  is  incorporated  in  your  state. 

Town  manager  form  of  government  in  your  state.     Its  advantages. 


READINGS 

State  Constitution. 

County  Government  and  County  Affairs  in  North  Carolina,  North  Carolina  Club 

Year  Book  1917-1918  (The  University  of  North  Carolina  Record,  Extension 

Series  No.  30,  Chapel  Hill,  N.  C). 
County  Government,  Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social 

Science,  vol.  XLVII,  May,  1913.     (36th  and  Woodland  Ave.,  Philadelphia.) 
Publications  of  the  New  York  Short  Ballot  Association,  381  Fourth  Ave.,  New 

York  City. 
Fairlie,  J.  A.,  Local  Government  in  Counties,  Towns,  and  Villages  (The  Century  Co.). 
Mobilizing  the  Rural  Community,  by  E.  L.  Morgan,  Extension  Bulletin  No.  23, 

Massachusetts  Agricultural  College,  Amherst,  Mass. 
In  Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 

Series  B  :  Lesson  19,  The  commission  form  of  government  and  the  city  manager. 
Hart,  A.  B.,  Actual  Government,  Part  iv,  Local  government  in  action. 
Reed,  T.  H.,  Form  and  Functions  of  American  Government,  Part  iv,  Local  government. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 
OUR  STATE  GOVERNMENTS 

When  the  thirteen  original  states  were  colonies,  they  derived 
their  governing  powers  from  charters  granted  to  them  by  the 
king,  as  cities  and  some  counties  are  granted  char- 
ters by  the  state.     When  they  won  their  inde-  governing 
pendence  the  people  of  each  state  substituted  a  ^^"^^^ 
constitution  for  the  charter;  the  difference  between  a  charter 
and  a  constitution  being  that  the  former  is  given  to  the  people 
by  some  higher  authority,  while  the  latter  is  adopted  hy  the 
people  themselves.     All  of  our  states  alike,  whether  created 
before  or  after  the  Union  was  formed,  are  self-governing  under 
constitutions  of  their  own  making. 

Counties  and  towns,  cities  and  villages,  have  no  powers  of 
self-government  except  those  granted  to  them  by  the  state.  The 
national  government,  also,  may  exercise  only  such  powers  as 
are  given  to  it  by  the  people  voting  as  states.  Each  state,  on  the 
other  hand,  is  self-governing  in  its  own  right,  and  may  exercise 
through  its  government  any  power  whatever,  excepting  only 
those  which  it  voluntarily  surrendered  upon  entering  the  Union. 
(See  pp.  94,  449;  also  Constitution,  Art.  I,  sec.  10,  and 
Art.  IV.) 

The  state  constitution  is  the  supreme  law  of  the  state  and  is 
supposed  to  represent  the  direct  voice  of  the  people.  Since 
the  Union  was  formed,  state  constitutions  have  The  state 
been  framed  by  conventions  of  delegates  elected  constitution 
especially  for  the  purpose,  and  in  most  cases  have  been  sub- 
mitted to  the  people  for  their  ratification.  Amendments  may 
be  proposed  either  by  such  conventions  or  by  the  state  legis- 
latures, but  they  must  also  be  ratified  by  the  people.     Some 

419 


420  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

of  the  states  have  completely  revised  their  constitutions  several 
times,  and  amendments  have  been  very  numerous. 

State  constitutions  are  long  documents,  containing  a  great 
deal  of  detail  regarding  the  organization  and  powers  of  govern- 
ment.    In  this  respect  they  differ  from  the  national 
Cause  of  .        .  ,.,.,..  i       •      i 

length  of  Constitution,  which  is  brief  and  speaks  in  broad, 

state  con-  general  terms.  Recent  constitutions  are  longer 
stitutions  ,  ,.  ,      ,  ,  .  ^ 

than  earlier  ones,  partly  because  there  is  a  greater 

variety  of  problems  to  be  dealt  with,  but  also  because  of  a 
growing  tendency  to  limit  the  powers  of  legislatures  and  admin- 
istrative officers. 

After  a  declaration  of  rights,  which  all  state  constitutions 
contain,  the  constitution  is  concerned  chiefly  with  the  organi- 
A  reoublican  nation,  powers  and  duties  of  the  government.  Each 
form  of  state  may  organize  its  government  as  it  sees  fit, 

government  provided  only  that  it  is  "repubhcan"  in  form  as 
required  by  the  federal  Constitution  (Art.  IV,  sec.  4).  This 
means  that  it  must  be  a  form  of  representative  self-government. 

While  the  state  governments  differ  from  one  another  in 
matters  of  detail,  the  general  plan  is  the  same  in  all.  Each 
Separation  consists  of  three  branches :  the  legislative  branch 
of  powers  {qj-  lawmaking ;  the  executive  branch  for  law 
enforcement  and  administration ;  and  the  judicial  branch  for 
the  interpretation  of  the  laws  and  for  the  administration  of 
justice  in  accordance  with  the  law.  These  three  branches  are 
organized  on  the  principle  of  a  separation  of  powers,  to  prevent 
encroachment  by  one  upon  the  powers  of  the  others,  and  to 
make  each  a  check  upon  the  powers  of  the  others  (see  p.  449). 

In  the  government  of  this  commonwealth,  the  legislative  department 
shall  never  exercise  the  executive  and  judicial  powers,  or  either  of  them; 
the  executive  shall  never  exercise  the  legislative  and  judicial  powers,  or 
either  of  them ;  the  judicial  shall  never  exercise  the  legislative  and  executive 
powers,  or  either  of  them ;  to  the  end  it  may  be  a  government  of  laws,  and 
not  of  men.' 

1  Constitution  of  Massachusetts,  Part  I,  Art.  XXX. 


OUR   STATE   GOVERNMENTS  42 1 

Investigate  and  report  on : 

The  meaning  of  "a  government  of  laws,  and  not  of  men." 

The  entrance  of  your  state  into  the  Union. 

The  history  of  your  present  state  constitution. 

The  powers  surrendered  by  your  state  when  it  entered  the  Union. 

Compare  the  length  of  your  state  constitution  with  that  of  the  federal 
Constitution. 

The  principal  parts  of  which  your  constitution  is  composed. 

Number  of  amendments  to  your  state  constitution.  When  the  latest 
amendments  were  adopted  and  why. 

The  declaration  of  rights  in  your  state  constitution. 

Checks  exercised  by  the  legislature  upon  the  executive  and  judicial 
branches ;  by  the  executive  upon  the  legislative  and  judicial  branches ;  by 
the  judicial  upon  the  legislative  and  executive  branches. 

The  chief  executive  ofl&cer  of  the  state  is  the  governor,  who  is 
elected  by  the  people  for  a  term  which  varies,  in  the  different 
states,  from  one  to  four  years.  It  is  his  duty  to  see 
that  the  laws  of  the  state  are  faithfully  executed. 
The  constitution  makes  him  the  commander-in-chief  of  the 
state  militia,  which  he  may  call  upon  to  enforce  the  laws  or  to 
quell  disorders.  It  also  gives  him  the  power  to  pardon  persons 
convicted  of  crime,  in  the  exercise  of  which  power  he  is  some- 
times assisted  by  a  special  board  of  pardons  and  sometimes  by 
the  legislature ;  but  the  consideration  of  the  pleas  of  such  persons 
and  their  friends  for  pardon  often  consumes  much  of  his  time. 

A  great  deal  of  the  governor's  time  is  also  taken  up  with 
duties  devolving  upon  him  as  the  official  representative  of  the 
state  on  ceremonial  occasions,  as  in  the  laying  of   „. 
corner-stones  of  public  buildings,  attending  state  governor's 
fairs,  and  making  speeches  at  public  meetings  of  ^^^^^  duties 
all  kinds.     By  virtue  of  his  office  he  is  also  a  member  of  many 
boards  and  commissions  whose  meetings  he  must  attend. 

The  governor  also  has  some  part  in  lawmaking.  In  all 
states  except  North  Carolina  he  has  the  power  to  veto  bills 
passed  by  the  legislature.  This  check  upon  the  legislature  is 
not  absolute,  for  the  legislature  may  overcome   the  governor's 


422 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


veto  by  again  passing  the  bill,  usually  by  a  two-thirds  vote. 
The  governor  may  also  influence  legislation  by  means  of  his 
_,  messages  to  the  legislature  in  which  he  recommends 

emor's  part  in  measures  which  he  believes  should  be  enacted  into 
lawmaking  j^^  j^^  ^^^^  ^^  opposition  by  the  legislature,  the 
governor  often  carries  his  proposals  directly  to  the  people,  who 
quickly  make  known  whether  or  not  they  support  him.     The 


- 1  -l-T-TI-'  i  -  I    I    e    I    • 

.XJ-I.I    i  I  i.  @  i   i 


flT!  jIfiT  iiii 

I  I  1^  s  i  I  a  I  I  I  I  t  I 


State  Capitol  of  Minnesota  at  St.  Paul 


governor  may  call  special  sessions  of  the  legislature  to  consider 

measures  of  especial  importance. 

The  governor  is  a  more  influential  officer  to-day  than  he  was 

in  the  early  part  of  our  history.     In  colonial  times  he  was  the 

direct  representative  of  the  king,  or  of  the  colonial 
Growing  in-  ^  "' 

fluence  of  the  proprietor,  and  the  people  sought  in  every  way  to 
governor  limit  his  powers.     After  the  colonies  became  states 

this  habitual  fear  of  the  governor  continued,  and  he  was  placed 
under  the  control  of  the  legislature.  As  time  went  on,  however, 
the  legislature  fell  under  the  suspicion  of  the  people,  whfle  the 


OUR   STATE   GOVERNMENTS  423 

governor  was  more  and  more  looked  to  as  their  leader.     Thus, 

for  example,  the  veto  power  was  given  to  him,  increasing  his 

influence  while  it  curbed  that  of  the  legislature. 

But  the  power  and  influence  of  the  governor  are  by  no  means 

as  great  in  relation  to  state  government  as  are  the  powers  of  the 

President  in  relation  to  the  national  erovernment.   „,    ,  , 

'^  Weakness  of 

In  fact,  the  executive  branch  of  our  state  govern-  the  state 
ments  has  been  notoriously  weak,  and  its  weakness   ®^®^"*^^® 
is  of  the  same  kind  as  that  noted  in  county  government :  the 
lack  of  an  effective,  responsible  head  (see  page  408). 

In  our  national  government  the  executive  power  is  concen- 
trated in  the  hands  of  one  man.     State  constitutions  seem  to 

confer  the  same  powers  upon  the  governor.     The 

.,      .  .     T     ,.  ,,^,  .         Comparison  of 

constitution    of    Indiana    says,       The    executive   state  with 

powers  of  the  State  shall  be  vested  in  a  Governor" ;  national 
and  that  of  Pennsylvania  says,  ''The  supreme 
executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  the  Governor."  But  the 
Pennsylvania  constitution  also  says,  "The  executive  depart- 
ment shall  consist  of  a  Governor,  Lieutenant  Governor,  Secre- 
tary of  the  Commonwealth,  Attorney  General,  Auditor  General, 
State  Treasurer,  Secretary  of  Internal  Affairs  and  a  Superin- 
tendent of  Public  Instruction"  (Art.  IV,  sec.  i).  Four  of  these 
officers  besides  the  governor  are  elected  by  the  people. 

In  all  states  the  governor  "shall  take  care  that  the  laws  be 
faithfully    executed"    (Pennsylvania    constitution).     For    the 
execution  of  the  laws,  however,  he  is  dependent  not 
only  upon  a  number  of  principal  executive  officers  co^iexity^ 
such  as  those  named  above,  but  also  upon  a  large  °^  adminis- 
number  of  less  important  administrative  officers. 
Governor  Lowden,  of  Illinois,  a  few  years  ago  said : 

Administrative  agencies  have  been  multiplied  in  bewildering  confusion. 
They  have  been  created  without  reference  to  their  ability  economically  and 
effectively  to  administer  the  laws.  Separate  boards  govern  the  peniten- 
tiaries, the  reformatories,  and  the  educational  institutions.     Several  boards 


424  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

and  commissions  have  charge  of  matters  affecting  the  agricultural  interests. 
Administration  of  laws  affecting  labor  is  parceled  out  among  numerous 
agencies,  including  several  boards  having  jurisdiction  of  mining  problems 
and  several  free  employment  agencies,  each  independent  of  the  other.  Our 
finance  administration  is  chaotic,  illogical  and  confused. 

The  administration  of  the  health  laws  is  divided  between  boards  and 
commissions,  with  no  effective  means  of  coordination.  Our  educational 
agencies  are  not  harmonious.  Over  one  hundred  officers,  boards,  agencies, 
commissions,  institutions  and  departments  are  charged  with  the  adminis- 
tration of  our  laws.  No  systematic  organization  exists,  and  no  adequate  con- 
trol can  be  exercised.  .  .  .  Under  the  present  system  the  governor  cannot 
exercise  the  supervision  and  control  which  the  people  have  a  right  to  demand.^ 

This  condition  of  affairs  is  characteristic  of  state  governments 

generally.     Some  of  the  numerous  officers  are  appointed  by  the 

governor,  but  many  of  them  are  elected  by  the 

lacks  power       people   or   appointed   by    the   legislature.     Their 

to  meet  his  terms  of  office  do  not  coincide  with  that  of  the 
responsibility  .1     ,    i       r     i     •        ai 

governor,  so  that  he  nnds  in  office  many  persons 

whom  he  did  not  appoint,  and  whom  he  cannot  remove.  Often 
they  may  be  of  an  opposite  political  party.  Thus  the  very 
organization  of  the  state  executive  department  is  such  as  to 
make  it  impossible  for  the  governor  to  perform  the  duty,  imposed 
upon  him  by  the  constitution,  of  seeing  to  it  that  the  laws  are 
faithfully  executed.  It  must  be  remembered,  moreover,  that 
the  execution  of  the  laws  is  also  dependent  largely  upon  a  mul- 
titude of  local  officers  over  whom  the  state  exercises  little  con- 
trol (see  p.  413).  It  is  apparent  how  imperfect  must  be  the 
team  work  of  the  people  through  this  organization. 

Why  have  the  people  put  up  with  this  sort  of  thing?     For 
one  thing,   they  have  not  understood  where  the 
efforts  at  trouble  lies.     There  is  also  seen  the  influence  of 

popular  the  political  "boss,"  who  thrives  under  this  con- 

fusion.    But  among  the   causes  is  the  desire  of 
the  people  to  maintain  control  over  government.     They  have 

1  Charles  E.  Woodward,  "The  Illinois  Civil  Administrative  Code,"  reprinted  from 
Proceedings,  Academy  of  Political  Science,  July,  1918. 


OUR   STATE  GOVERNMENTS 


425 


attempted,  in  their  constitutions,  not  only  to  say  just  what 
services  should  be  performed  for  them,  but  also  to  specify 
just  what  machinery  should  be  used  for  their  performance. 
For  every  new  service,  they  have  created  a  new  and  independent 
piece  of  machinery.  Then,  to  make  their  control  complete,  as 
they  thought,  they  have  made  most  of  their  new  officers  elec- 
tive.    Experience  has  shown-  that  control  of  this  kind  has  been 


State  Capitol  of  Pennsylvania  at  Harrisburg 

gained  only  at  the  sacrifice  of  efficient  service,  through  failure 
to  provide  trained  leadership  and  effective  organization.  More- 
over, experience  has  also  shown  that  control  of  this  kind  is 
largely  a  delusion  ;  for  the  people  cannot  keep  in  touch  with  their 
multitude  of  officers,  and  in  many  cases  yield  their  control, 
often  unknowingly,  to  the  political  "boss." 

In  noting  these  defects,  it  is  not  to  be  concluded  that  our 
state  governments  have  been  a  failure  in  all  re-  -, 
spects.     Far  from  it.     Notable  progress  has  been  necessary  to 
made  toward  the  ideals  toward  which  we  have  been   P''<'sress 
striving.    We  have  tried  one  experiment  after  another,  some  of 


426  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

which  have  been  highly  successful,  but  others  of  which  have 
not  met  the  test  of  new  conditions.  It  is  important,  however, 
that  we  should  face  our  failures  squarely  and  profit  by  them. 
At  the  present  time  there  is  a  marked  efifort  to  overcome  the 
defects  that  we  have  just  noted,  and  a  good  deal  of  progress 

toward  it  has  been  made  in  some  states.     One  of 
Reorganiza- 
tion of  the  most  progressive  states  in  this  particular  is 
executive          Illinois,  which  has  recently  enacted  a  law  for  the 
reorganization  of  its  executive  branch  of  government. 

Under  the  new  "Civil  Administrative  Code"  of  Illinois,  the  executive 
branch  of  government  is  organized  in  nine  departments':  the  departments 
of  finance,  of  agriculture,  of  labor,  of  mines  and  minerals,  of  public  works 
and  buildings,  of  public  welfare,  of  public  health,  of  trade  and  commerce, 
and  of  registration  and  education. 

At  the  head  of  each  department  is  a  director,  who  is  appointed  by  the 
governor,  is  responsible  to  him,  and  whose  term  of  office  is  the  same  as  that 
of  the  governor. 

Each  department  is  organized  into  various  bureaus,  or  other  subdivisions, 
with  officers  in  charge  who  are  directly  responsible  to  the  director  of  the 
department.  Thus,  in  the  department  of  agriculture  there  is  an  assistant 
director,  a  general  manager  of  the  state  fair,  a  superintendent  of  foods  and 
dairies,  a  superintendent  of  animal  industry,  a  superintendent  of  plant 
industry,  a  chief  veterinarian,  a  chief  game  and  fish  warden,  and  a  food 
standard  commission  of  three  members. 

All  subordinate  employees  in  all  departments  are  appointed  under  a  civil 
service  law  which  requires  competitive  examinations. 

Associated  with  most  of  the  departments  are  "advisory  boards"  consist- 
ing of  citizens  who  serve  without  pay.  Thus,  the  department  of  agriculture 
has  a  board  of  agricultural  advisers  composed  of  fifteen  persons,  and  a  board 
of  state  fair  advisers  of  nine  persons,  not  more  than  three  of  whom  shall  be 
appointed  from  any  one  county. 

The  things  aimed  at  in  this  reorganization  are:  (i)  fixing 
responsibility  for  the  entire  service-organization  in  one  place  — 
with  the  governor;  (2)  responsible,  trained  leadership  in  each 
department  of  service ;  (3)  responsiveness  of  leadership  to  the 
people's  wants,  as  provided  for  by  the  advisory  boards ;  (4)  a 


OUR   STATE   GOVERNMENTS  427 

system  of  accounting  and  records  that  will  make  for  efficiency 
and  economy,  and  that  will  inform  the  people  as  well  as  the 
officers  of  government. 

Investigate  and  report  on : 

The  name  of  the  governor  of  your  state,  his  pohtical  party,  when  elected, 
for  how  long  a  term. 

Advantages  and  disadvantages  of  a  long  term  for  the  governor. 

The  constitutional  powers  of  the  governor  of  your  state. 

The  influence  of  the  governor  of  your  state  with  the  people. 

The  principal  executive  and  administrative  officers  of  your  state.  Those 
that  are  elective  and  those  that  are  appointive. 

A  complete  list  of  the  administrative  bureaus,  boards,  commissions,  and 
other  state  agencies,  with  their  duties. 

The  application  of  Governor  Lowden's  statement  regarding  Illinois 
(p.  423)  to  your  state. 

Any  proposed  reorganization  of  the  executive  branch  of  your  state 
government. 

The  legislative  branch  of  government  consists,  in  all  states,  of 
a  legislature  ("general  assembly,"  "legislative  assembly,"  or 
"general  court")  composed  of  two  "houses"  or  xhelegisla- 
"  chambers,"  the  house  of  representatives  and  the  tive  branch 
senate.  The  senate  is  the  "upper  house,"  and  is  usually  from 
one  third  to  one  half  the  size  of  the  "lower  house" ;  in  Massa- 
chusetts only  one  sixth  the  size. 

A  bill  to  become  a  law  must  pass  both  houses  separately, 
each  house  acting  as  a  check  upon  the  other,  thus  securing 
greater  deliberation  in  lawmaking.  The  senate  The  two 
is  supposed  to  be,  and  usually  is,  a  more  conserva-  houses 
tive,  or  cautious,  body  than  the  house  of  representatives,  partly 
because  of  its  smaller  size  which  makes  possible  a  more  careful 
consideration  of  business.  Its  members  are  elected  from  larger 
districts,  thus  increasing  the  opportunity  to  select  able  men. 
A  higher  age  qualification  is  required  for  membership  in  the 
senate  than  in  the  house  of  representatives ;  and  only  a  part  of 
the  senate  is  elected  at  each  electJQn,  so  that  it  is  a  continuing 


428 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


body,  always  containing  members  of  experience,  while  the  lower 
house  may  be  almost  entirely  changed  at  each  election. 

It  is  a  theory  of  our  representative  government  that  repre- 
sentation should  be  proportional  to  population.     To  secure  this 

result,  each  state  is  divided  into  election  districts 
defects  in  • 

distribution       presumably  of  as  nearly  equal  population  as  pos- 

of  repre-  sible,  the  senatorial  districts  being  the  larger.     In 

practice,  however,  these  districts  do  not  always 

have  representation   proportional    to    their   population.     The 


^^.\1;#  f ." '^  ^-^^1,      _-  /. 

',^K' 

^       •■■'■■■-;..■:                  ..         .     ,    .s         ,.  -:  '^  ■■..    ■:■•,.■.. 

Hall  of  Representatives,  Pennsylvania  Capitol 

county  is  often  the  unit  of  representation,  or  in  New  England 
the  town,  and  these  districts  vary  greatly  in  population.  An 
attempt  is  made  to  equalize  the  difference  by  providing  that  no 
district  shall  have  less  than  one  representative,  and  often  that 
none  shall  have  more  than  a  certain  number.  Inequalities 
nevertheless  exist.     In  Connecticut, 


OUR   STATE   GOVERNMENTS  429 

thirty-four  of  the  most  populous  towns  and  cities  have  sixty-eight  members 
in  the  lower  house,  whereas  if  the  distribution  were  made  on  the  basis  of 
population  they  would  be  entitled  to  186  members.  Again,  four  of  the 
smallest  Connecticut  towns,  with  a  total  population  of  1567,  have  five  mem- 
bers; four  of  the  most  populous  cities,  containing  309,982  inhabitants,  have 
only  eight  members,  whereas  on  the  basis  of  population  they  would  be  en- 
titled to  eighty-seven.i 

Partisan  influences  often  enter  into  the  districting  of  states  for 
representation,  the  party  in  power  trying  to  fix  boundaries  so 
as  to  insure  keeping  their  majority  in  the  legislature. 

Investigate  and  report  on  the  following : 

Number  of  members  in  the  lower  and  upper  houses  of  your  legislature. 
Qualifications  for  membership  and  term  of  office  in  each  house. 
Names  of  your  own  representative  and  senator. 

Secure  a  map  showing  legislative  districts  of  your  state.  Locate  your  own. 
Whether  representation  in  your  legislature  is  proportional  to  population. 
The  "gerrymander" :   what  is  it,  and  has  it  been  used  in  your  state? 

The  legislature  controls  our  lives  at  almost  every  turn. 

It  has  control  over  the  whole  domain  of  civil  law ;  ^  that  is,  it  lays  down 
the  rules  governing  contracts,  real  and  personal  property,  inheritance, 
corporations,  mortgages,  marriage  and  divorce,  and  other  civil  matters. 
It  defines  crime ;  that  is,  it  prescribes  those  actions  of  the  citizen  which  are 
to  be  punished  by  fine  or  imprisonment  or  death.  It  touches  the  property 
of  the  citizen  not  only  by  regulating  its  use,  but  also  by  imposing  upon  it  a 
burden  of  taxation.  Finally,  it  has  control  over  the  vast  domain  known  as 
the  police  power,  under  which  it  makes  regulations  concerning  public  health, 
morals,  and  welfare,  devises  rules  for  the  conduct  of  business  and  professions, 
and  in  other  ways  restrains  the  liberty  of  the  citizen  to  do  as  he  pleases.' 

In  view  of  this  importance,  it  would  seem  that  the  people 

would  have  the  keenest  interest  in  their  state  leg- 

r         1  T.,  •      Attitude  of 

islatures  and  the  greatest  respect  tor  them.     Ihis  the  people 

has  not  always  been  the  case.     As  one  writer  says,   toward  their 

legislatures 
"  it  has  become  almost  fashionable '  to  speak  slight- 
ingly of  legislatures  and  their  members,  and  to  talk  of  them  as 

'  C.  A.  Beard,  American  Government  and  Politics,  p.  521.         '  See  below,  p.  437. 
'  C.  A.  Beard,  American  Government  and  Politics,  p.  516. 


43  O  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

if  they  were  wholly  corrupt  and  dishonorable.  If  the  very 
best  men  the  community  affords  are  not  always  chosen  for  the 
difficult  and  responsible  work  of  lawmaking,  the  people  have 
no  one  to  blame  but  themselves.  Moreover,  the  members  of 
our  legislatures  average  up  very  much  like  their  neighbors,  and 
most  of  them  are  sincerely  desirous  of  serving  their  state  and  do 
so  to  the  fullest  extent  possible  under  the  conditions  that  exist. 

It  is  indeed  time  that  a  different  attitude  should  be  assumed  toward  these 
bodies.  .  .  .  Acquaintance  with  actual  legislatures  will  immediately  reveal 
the  fact  that  they  are  fairly  representative  of  the  American  people,  and  that 
there  is  in  them  a  great  deal  of  honest  effort  to  grapple  with  the  difficult 
problems  of  legislation.  .  .  .  Before  all,  there  ought  to  be  a  sustained  effort 
to  support  the  men  who  are  with  honest  purpose  struggling  for  equitable 
and  effective  legislation.  .  .  } 

Most  of  the  unwise  and  harmful  legislation  has  been  due,  not 
to  wrong  intentions  on  the  part  of  legislators,  but  to  the  diffi- 
Difficulties  culty  encountered  by  a  body  of  men  of  average 
of  wise  intelligence  and  of  little  experience  in  dealing  with 

legislation  public  questions,  in  getting  information  necessary 
to  enable  them  to  decide  wisely  with  respect  to  the  multitude  of 
complicated  problems  that  come  before  them  during  the  brief 
session  of  the  legislature. 

In  the  lower  house  of  one  typical  legislature  only  19  out  of  the  252  mem- 
bers had  ever  been  members  of  a  legislature  before,  123  were  farmers,  6 
lawyers,  10  physicians,  48  merchants  and  manufacturers,  3  bankers,  5 
preachers,  6  insurance  men,  2  hotel  proprietors,  3  liverymen,  14  laborers  or 
artisans,  6  "apparently  with  no  occupation  except  that  of  general  politician 
and  office-seeker." 

Of  the  thirty  members  of  the  senate  of  the  same  legislature,  9  were  farm- 
ers, 4  lawyers,  4  physicians,  and  13  merchants.  Seven  of  these  had  com- 
pleted their  education  in  "academies,"  while  13  had  never  got  beyond  the 
public  schools. 

These  men  had  to  decide,  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks,  upon  an  astonish- 
ing variety  of  problems,  some  of  them  of  the  greatest  complexity,  and  all 

'  Paul  S.  Reinsch,  American  Legislatures  and  Legislative  Methods,  p.  126. 


OUR   STATE  GOVERNMENTS  43 1 

of  them  affecting  the  Uves  of  the  citizens  of  the  state  in  a  multitude  of  ways. 
It  is  not  surprising  that  serious  mistakes  are  sometimes  made.^ 

The  mere  writing  of  a  bill  in  language  that  will  convey  the 
exact  meaning  intended,  and  that  will  not  involve  undesirable 
and  unexpected  results,  is  a  difficult  matter  that  requires  the 
skill  of  men  trained  for  it. 

In  a  number  of  states  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  meet 
these   natural   difficulties   by   the   establishment   of   legislative 
reference  libraries,  or  bureaus,  in  charge  of  highly  Lggjsiative 
trained  students  who  collect  all  available  informa-  reference 
tion  relating  to  every  possible  subject  of  legislation,     "^^^"^ 
keep  records  of  legislation  in  other  states,  and  place  the  material 
in  convenient  form  at  the  disposal  of  the  legislators.     Some- 
times they  provide  expert  service  in  the  writing  of  bills  in  the 
proper  form.     It  is  said  that  such  legislative  reference  bureaus 
have  already  greatly  improved  the  quality  of  legislation  in 
some  of  the  states. 

It  would  be  impossible  for  a  legislature,  acting  as  a  body,  to 
give  consideration  to  more  than  a  small  fraction  of  the  bills  that 
come  before  it. 

It  is  said  that  it  is  not  unusual  for  more  than  2500  bills  to  be  introduced 
at  a  single  session.  Legislatures  are  in  session  from  40  to  90  days.  If  the 
session  were  60  days,  and  the  working  day  10  hours,  there  would  be  but  15 
minutes  for  each  of  2500  bills.  This  time  would  be  divided  between  the 
two  houses.  Besides,  a  great  deal  of  business  must  be  transacted  other  than 
the  consideration  and  passage  of  bills. 

To  make  possible  the  handling  of  all  this  work,  each  house 
is  organized  in  standing  committees.     As  bills  are  introduced, 
they  are  referred  to  their  appropriate  committees,   ^j^^  commit- 
in  which  most  of  the  work  of  lawmaking  is  done,   tee  system  of 
Most  of  the  bills  so  referred  are  never  reported    ^^'^ 
back  to  the  legislature  at  all,  and  those  that  are  reported  are 

'  C.  A.  Beard,  American  Government  and  Politics,  p.  525  (from  S.  P.  Orth,  "Our 
State  Legislatures,"  Atlantic  Monthly,  vol.  xciv,  pp.  728  11. 


432 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


in  most  cases  acted  upon  by  the  legislature  in  accordance 
with  the  committees'  reports,  with  little  general  discussion. 
The  procedure  followed  in  referring  bills  to  committees  and  in 
considering  them  when  they  are  reported  back  is  determined 
by  a  complexity  of  rules  that  are  confusing  to  the  outsider  and 
that  cannot  be  explained  in  detail  here.  But  their  declared 
purpose  is  to  save  time  and  to  enable  the  legislative  business 
to  move  smoothly.  The  small  committees  can  work  to  better 
advantage  than  the  large  body  of  men  in  either  chamber.  The 
work  is  divided  up  so  that  the  few  members  of  each  committee 
can  concentrate  their  attention  upon  a  few  subjects  and  gain 
experience  in  handling  special  kinds  of  problems. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  to  this  organization  that  we  owe  some 
of  the  bad  lawmaking  for  which  our  legislatures  are  blamed. 
Invisible  It  tends  to  remove  legislation  from  the  control  of 

government  the  people,  and  results  in  what  is  often  called  "in- 
visible government,"  government  that  is  carried  on  out  of  sight 
of  the  people.  It  opens  a  door  to  partisan  influences  and  to 
control  by  political  "bosses"  and  self-seeking  "interests." 
In  the  lower  house  the  committees  are  appointed  by  the  speaker, 
who  is  the  presiding  officer,  and  who  is  always  chosen  by  the 
members  of  the  majority  party  in  the  house  from  their  own 
number.  The  senate  committees  are  sometimes  appointed  by 
the  presiding  officer  of  the  senate,  who  is  often  the  lieutenant- 
governor,  and  sometimes  elected  by  the  senate  itself.  But  the 
chairmen  and  the  majority  of  the  members  of  all  committees 
in  both  houses  belong  to  the  majority  party,  which  is  thus 
enabled  to  control  legislation  for  partisan  ends  if  it  so  desires, 
and  it  often  does  so. 

Bills  may  be  "killed"  in  committee,  or  reported  unfavorably, 
or  so  amended  as  to  change  their  meaning  entirely,  merely  at 
Evils  of  the  the  will  of  the  party  leaders,  or  of  "bosses"  and 
system  interests  outside  of  the  legislature.     A  large  part 

of  the  work  of  the  committees  is  carried  on  in  secret.     Although 


OUR   STATE   GOVERNMENTS  433 

"  hearings  "  may  be  held  at  which  citizens  may  present  argu- 
ments for  and  against  proposed  measures,  these  may  be  mere 
matters  of  form.  Influential  interests  may  maintain  a  lobby  at 
the  legislature,  which  means  that  they  are  represented  there  by 
agents  who  seek  to  influence  the  members  of  the  legislature,  and 
especially  of  the  committees,  sometimes  by  corrupt  methods. 
The  lobby  often  works  by  secret  methods,  whereas  the  "hear- 
ings" are  public. 

The  party  leaders  in  control,  of  whom  the  most  important 
are  the  speaker  of  the  house,  the  rules  committee,  the  chairmen 
of  committees,  and  the  "floor  manager,"  by  dictating  the 
procedure  to  be  followed,  may  at  times  make  it  practically 
impossible  for  a  member  of  the  minority  party,  or  one  who  has 
incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  leaders,  to  gain  a  hearing.  The 
following  description  gives  an  idea  of  what  may  happen :  * 

Consider  the  petty  annoyances  to  which  a  decent  member  outside  the 
"organization"  may  be  subjected,  and  the  methods  by  which  legitimate 
legislation,  backed  by  him,  may  be  blocked.  The  bill  goes  to  an  unfriendly 
committee.  The  chairman  refuses  to  call  the  committee  together,  or  when 
forced  to  call  it,  a  quorum  does  not  attend.  .  .  .  Action  may  be  postponed 
on  various  pretexts,  or  the  bill  may  be  referred  to  a  sub-committee.  The 
committee  may  kill  the  bill  by  laying  it  on  the  table.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  committee  may  decide  that  the  bill  be  reported  to  the  house  to  pass. 
Then  a  common  practice  is  for  the  chairman  to  pocket  the  bill,  delaying  to 
report  it  to  the  house  till  too  late  to  pass  it.  When  finally  reported  to  the 
house,  it  goes  on  the  calendar  to  be  read  a  first  time  in  its  order.  Then  begins 
the  advancing  of  bills  by  unanimous  consent,  without  waiting  to  reach  them 
in  order.  Here  is  where  the  organization  has  absolute  control.  Unanimous 
consent  is  subject  to  the  speaker's  acuteness  of  hearing.  His  hearing  is 
sharpened  or  dulled  according  to  the  good  standing  of  the  objector  or  of  the 
member  pushing  the  bill.  If  one  not  friendly  to  the  house  "  organization  " 
wants  to  have  his  bill  considered  over  an  objection,  he  must  move  to  suspend 
the  rules.  The  speaker  may  refuse  to  recognize  him,  or  may  put  his  motion 
and  declare  it  carried  or  not  carried  as  suits  his  and  the  organization's  desires. 
So  the  pet  bills  are  jumped  over  others  ahead  of  them  on  the  calendar,  while 

'  From  a  pamphlet  issued  by  the  Illinois  Legislative  Voters'  League  in  igo3, 
and  quoted  by  C.  A.  Beard,  American  Government  and  Politics,  pp.  539,  540. 


434  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

the  ones  not  having  the  backing  of  the  house  "  organization  "  are  retired 
farther  and  farther  down  until  their  ultimate  passage  becomes  hopeless. 
If  the  bill  of  the  independent  member  reaches  a  second  reading,  it  may  be 
killed  by  striking  out  the  enacting  clause  or  by  tacking  on  an  obnoxious 
amendment  that  makes  it  repulsive  to  its  former  friends.  ...  To  carry 
out  the  will  of  the  organization,  the  speaker  declares  amendments  carried  or 
the  contrary  by  a  viva  voce  vote.  Demands  for  roll-calls  are  ignored  by 
him  in  violation  of  the  members'  constitutional  rights.  .  .  . 

It  is  such  practices  as  these  that  have  brought  state  legisla- 
tures into  bad  repute,  and  that  have  resulted  in  measures  to 
Eff  rt  ^^^^  ^^^^^  power.     Instead  of  leaving  it  entirely 

curb  power  to  them  to  make  their  own  rules  of  procedure, 
of  legislatures  ^^^^y  Qf  these  rules  are  now  prescribed  by  the  state 
constitutions.  It  was  in  order  to  restrain  the  legislatures  that 
the  veto  power  has  been  given  to  the  governors  of  all  states  but 
one,  and  that  sessions  of  legislatures  have  been  limited  to  brief 
periods  of  from  forty  to  ninety  days,  and  then  only  once  in  two 
years.  For  the  same  reason  state  constitutions  have  taken 
away  powers  that  legislatures  once  commonly  abused,  as  in 
running  the  state  deeply  into  debt,  or  in  legislating  in  the 
interest  of  particular  localities  or  particular  groups;  and  have 
provided  in  great  detail  for  many  things  that  were  formerly  left 
to  the  discretion  of  the  legislatures.  For  the  same  reason  some 
states  have  adopted  the  initiative  and  referendum  (see  p.  380). 

Investigate  and  report  on : 

Powers  possessed  by  either  house  of  your  legislature  not  possessed  by 
the  other. 

Powers  denied  your  legislature  by  the  federal  Constitution. 

Powers  denied  your  legislature  by  your  state  constitution.     Reasons. 

Attitude  of  the  people  of  your  community  toward  your  legislature. 

Why  service  in  the  legislature  does  not  attract  more  of  the  most  capable 
men  of  the  state. 

The  vocations  of  the  members  of  your  legislature. 

Number  of  bills  introduced,  and  the  number  passed,  at  the  last  session 
of  your  legislature.    . 


OUR   STATE   GOVERNMENTS  435 

The  purpose  of  some  of  the  most  important  laws  enacted  by  your  legis- 
lature at  its  last  session. 

Why  it  is  difficult  to  write  a  bill  correctly. 

The  legislative  reference  library,  or  bureau,  of  your  state  (if  any). 

The  committees  in  each  house  of  your  legislature. 

Procedure  by  which  a  bUl  becomes  a  law  in  your  state. 

The  speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  your  state. 

"Invisible  government"  in  your  state. 

Laws  regulating  the  "lobby"  in  your  state. 

Frequency  and  length  of  legislative  sessions  in  your  state. 

Some  of  the  greatest  abuses  of  governing  power  have  been  in 
connection  with  the  appropriation  of  money.     They  have  been 
due  not  so  much  to  dishonesty  as  to  bad  organi- 
zation and  loose  business  methods,  both  in  the   .°^.  "®° 
executive  and  legislative  branches  of  government,  methods  of 
When   the  executive  branch  consists  of  a  large  ^eifts^^^^'^^" 
number  of  more  or  less  independent  parts,  as  de- 
scribed  on   pages   423,   424,  each   trying   to   make   the    best 
showing  possible,   it  is  quite   to   be   expected   that  each  will 
seek  to  get  from  the  public  treasury  all  the  money  possible 
without  reference  to  the  needs  of  other  parts  or  to  the  resources 
of  the  state.     When,  in  addition,  there  is  no  central  executive 
authority  with  power  to  hold  the  heads  of  the  various  parts 
responsible    for   their   acts,   and    no    uniform  or    businesslike 
system  of  keeping  accounts,  either  of  money  expended  or  of 
work  accomplished,  it  is  easy  to  see  the  opportunity  for  waste- 
fulness and  ineflSiciency. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  methods  of  making  appropriations  in 
the  legislature  have  been  equally  conducive  to  wastefulness. 
Appropriation  bills  pass  through  the  same  legisla- 

^V^fl.  s  t  c  f  u  1 

tive  machinery  as  all  other  bills  and  are  subject  to   methods  of 

the  same  dangers.     Moreover,  they  are  handled  by  making  ap- 
1./-P  •  1  •     1  ,       1        r    propriations 

different  committees  that  act  as  independently  of 

one  another  as  do  the  various  executive  departments.    In  Illinois, 

for  example,  until  recently  "requests  for  appropriations  were 


436  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

submitted  informally  by  each  office,  department,  or  board  ;  and 
separate  bills  were  prepared  by  the  several  departments  and  in- 
stitutions, and  introduced  by  individual  members  of  the  General 
Assembly,"  ^  then  being  referred  to  different  committees  accord- 
ing to  the  subjects  to  which  they  related.  At  the  session  of  1913, 
94  separate  appropriation  acts  were  passed. 

A  number  of  the  states  have  sought  to  remedy  this  defect  in 
government  by  the  adoption  of  a  budget  system  (see  Chapter 
The  budget  XIII,  pp.  174,  1 7 5).  Illinois  has  perhaps  made 
system  j-^g  most  complete  reform  in  this  matter.     We  have 

already  seen  how  that  state  has  reorganized  its  executive  branch 
of  government  (p.  426),  which  is  the  first  necessary  step. 
In  this  reorganization  there  was  created  a  finance  department, 
to  which  all  the  administrative  departments  submit  a  careful 
estimate  of  the  money  needed  for  their  various  lines  of  work, 
together  with  a  detailed  statement  of  work  done  and  money 
spent  during  the  two  preceding  years.  The  finance  department 
considers  all  these  statements  and  estimates  in  their  relation  to 
one  another  and  to  the  financial  resources  available  for  the 
next  two  years,  and  submits  to  the  governor  a  comprehensive 
and  detailed  budget.  On  the  basis  of  this,  a  single  appropria- 
tion bill  is  prepared  by  a  single  committee  of  the  legislature. 
Public  hearings  are  held,  the  people  are  given  opportunity  to 
know  just  what  the  government  has  done  and  intends  to  do, 
and  the  governor  and  his  finance  department  may  be  held 
responsible. 

No  single  change  would  add  so  largely  to  both  democracy  and  efficiency 
as  the  introduction  of  proper  budget  methods.^ 

^  John  A.  Fairlie,  Budget  Methods  in  Illinois,  Annals  of  the  American  Academy 
of  Political  and  Social  Science,  November,  1915;  quoted  by  W.  F.  Willoughby,  in 
The  Movement  for  Budgetary  Reform  in  the  States,  p.  45. 

2  Foreword  to  Public  Budgets,  Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and 
Social  Science,  November,  1915;  quoted  by  W.  F.  Willoughby,  The  Movement  for 
Budgetary  Reform  in  the  States,  p.  2. 


OUR   STATE   GOVERNMENTS  437 

Investigate  and  report  on : 

Method  of  making  appropriations  in  your  state. 
Movement  for  a  budget  system  in  your  state. 

Why  a  budget  system  tends  toward   (i)   economy,   (2)   efficiency,   (3) 
democracy. 

Questions  are  continually  arising  as  to  the  meaning  of  laws, 
or  as  to  how'  they  apply  in  particular  cases.  To  answer  these 
questions  the  judicial  branch  of  government  exists,  xhe  judicial 
comprising  a  system  of  courts.  The  courts  are  branch 
sometimes  called  upon  to  decide  whether  a  law  passed  by  the 
legislature,  or  an  act  of  an  administrative  officer,  is  in  harmony 
with  the  constitution,  and  if  not,  to  declare  such  law  or  act 
invahd.  The  judicial  branch  of  government  is  therefore  the 
people's  organization  to  keep  the  other  branches  of  government 
within  their  constitutional  powers. 

In  most  cases  that  come  before  the  courts,  however,  the  law 
is  perfectly  clear  when  once  the  facts  in  the  case  are  known. 
It  is  therefore  the  business  of  the  courts  also  to  .^.j  ^^^ 
ascertain  the  facts.  There  are  two  classes  of  cases  criminal 
that  come  before  the  courts,  civil  cases  and  criminal  ^^^^^ 
cases ;  and  the  law  that  applies  to  the  two  classes  is  known  as 
civil  law  and  criminal  law.  A  civil  case  is  one  that  involves 
a  dispute  between  individuals,  or  an  injury  done  by  one  indi- 
vidual to  another.  Such  would  be  a  dispute  over  a  boundary 
line  between  the  properties  of  two  individuals,  or  over  the  pay- 
ment of  a  debt ;  or  a  personal  injury  due  to  the  carelessness  of 
some  one,  or  an  injury  to  property  or  to  health  through  main- 
taining a  nuisance  of  some  kind.  In  such  cases  the  court, 
after  ascertaining  the  facts,  merely  sees  that  justice  is  done,  as 
by  the  payment  of  damages  to  the  injured  party  by  the  one  doing 
the  injury.  A  criminal  case  is  one  in  which  a  person  is  charged 
with  having  violated  a  law  of  the  community.  The  injury  is 
one  against  the  community  as  a  whole,  and  not  merely  against 
an  individual.     It  is  the  community  that  appears  in  court  against 


438 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


the  accused  person,  and  not  merely  one  of  his  neighbors.  In 
such  cases  the  court  first  ascertains  the  guilt  or  innocence  of 
the  accused  person ;  and  if  he  is  guilty,  imposes  a  punishment 
upon  him,  such  as  a  fine,  or  imprisonment,  or  even  death,  ac- 
cording to  the  nature  of  the  crime. 

The  judicial  branch  of  government,  then,  is  that  part  of  the 
governmental  organization  that  seeks  to  adjust,  by  peaceful  and 
just  means,  the  inevitable  conflicts  that  arise  in  community  life. 


A  Criminal  Trial  in  Progress 

The  lowest  in  the  series  of  state  courts  are  the  justices'  courts, 
of  which  there  is  at  least  one  in  every  township.  They  are 
Justices'  presided  over  by  justices  of  the  peace.     Only  cases 

courts  of   small   moment   come   before   justices'    courts: 

civil  cases  involving  very  small  amounts,  and  cases  of  minor 
infractions  of  the  law  punishable  by  small  fines  or  by  short 
terms  in  jail.  Persons  accused  of  more  serious  crimes  may  have 
a  preliminary  examination  in  a  justice's  court  and,  if  the  evi- 
dence warrants  it,  be  committed  to  jail  to  await  the  action  of 


OUR  STATE  GOVERNMENTS  439 

the  grand  jury  (see  below).     Most  cases  in  a  justice's  court 

are  disposed  of  by  the  justice  of  the  peace  alone;   but  a  jury 

trial  may  be  demanded  in  all  criminal  cases,  and  in  civil  suits 

"where  the  value  in  controversy  shall  exceed  twenty  dollars" 

(Const.,  Amendments  VI,  VII). 

More  serious  cases,  civil  or  criminal,  are  tried  in  the  county, 

or  district,  courts  before  a  judge  and  a  jury.     Cases  that  have 

been  tried  in  a  justice's  court  may  be  appealed  to    ^      ^        _^ 
•'  1  1  •  County  courts 

the  county  or  district  court,  where  there  is  sure  to 

be  a  jury  trial,  and  where  the  judge  is  more  learned  in  the  law 
than  is  a  justice  of  the  peace.  It  is  the  business  of  the  jury  to 
decide  on  the  facts  in  the  case  on  the  evidence  furnished  in  the 
trial,  and  in  civil  cases  to  award  the  amount  of  damages,  if  any, 
to  be  paid ;  while  the  judge  sees  that  the  procedure  is  in  accord- 
ance with  the  law,  instructs  the  jury  as  to  the  law  in  the  case, 
and  in  criminal  cases  fixes  the  penalty  within  the  limits  per- 
mitted by  the  law. 

It  was  stated  above  that  in  criminal  cases  it  is  the  community 
that   appears  against  the  accused.     The  community  appears 
in  the  person  of  the  district  attorney,   otherwise    „ 
called  the  prosecuting  attorney,  state's  attorney,    munityin 
or  county  solicitor.    It  is  the  business  of  this  officer 
to  gather  evidence  of  crimes  committed  in  the  community  and, 
in  most  cases,  to  submit  it  to  the  grand  jury,  which  is  a  body  of 
citizens    carefully  chosen    to  consider  such  evidence.     If    the 
grand  jury  considers  the  evidence  against  the  accused  sufficient 
to  warrant  bringing  him  to  trial,  it  brings  in  an   indictment 
against  him.     The   prosecuting  attorney  then  prosecutes  the 
case  for  the  community  against  the  accused.     It  is  of  course 
his  duty  to  secure  exact  justice;  sometimes,  however,  he  seems 
interested  only  in  securing  the  conviction  of  the  accused. 

Our  state  and  national  constitutions  seek  to  protect  carefully 
the  rights  of  a  person  accused  of  crime.  He  is  assumed  to  be 
innocent  until  he  has  been  proved  otherwise.     He  is  guaranteed 


440  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

a  "speedy  and  public  trial,  by  an  impartial  jury."  He  must 
be  "confronted  with  witnesses  against  him,"  and  have  "com- 
Rights  of  pulsory   process    for    obtaining  witnesses    in    his 

the  accused  favor,"  and  "assistance  of  counsel  for  his  defense  " 
(Const.,  Amendment  VI).  He  cannot  be  compelled  to  be  a 
witness  against  himself,  nor  be  deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or  prop- 
erty, without  "due  process  of  law"  (Amendment  V).  "Exces- 
sive bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive  fines  imposed,  nor 
cruel  and  unusual  punishments  inflicted  "  (Amendment  VIII). 

In  some  states  there  is  another  set  of  courts  immediately 
above  the  county  courts,  known  as  circuit,  district,  or  superior, 
Circuit  or  courts.  The  districts  in  which  these  courts  have 
superior  jurisdiction  include   several  counties.     The  cases 

*^°"  ^  handled  by  them  are  either  cases  of  appeal  from 

the  lower  courts,  or  cases  of  greater  importance  than  those  over 
which  the  lower  courts  have  jurisdiction. 

The  highest  court  in  the  state  is  the  supreme  court,  sometimes 
called  the  court  of  appeals,  or  the  court  of  errors.  In  the  supreme 
The  state  court  several  judges  sit  together,  and  there  is  no 

supreme  jury.     The  cases  that  come  before  it  are  for  the 

'^°^  most  part  cases  of  appeal  from  the  lower  courts, 

although  there  are  certain  classes  of  cases  that  come  before  it 
in  the  first  instance.  The  supreme  court  is  the  final  judge  as 
to  whether  acts  of  the  legislature  are  in  conformity  with  the 
state  constitution. 

In  addition  to  the  courts  named  above  there  are  sometimes 

others  to  deal  with  special  classes  of  cases.     In  cities  there  are 

municipal  courts  and  police  courts,  both  in  the  same 
Other  courts         ,  .  ,       .        .       ,  ^,  ... 

class    with    justices     courts,     ihere    are  juventle 

courts  to  deal  with  juvenile  offenders ;    probate,  or  surrogate, 

courts  to  settle  the  estates  of  persons  who  have  died ;    courts 

of  claims  to  settle  claims  against  the  state  ;  and  chancery  courts, 

or  courts  of  equity,  which  administer  justice  in  cases  that  the 

ordinary  law  will  not  reach. 


OUR   STATE   GOVERNMENTS  441 

For  example,  the  law  will  permit  a  man's  property  to  be  taken  to  satisfy 
a  mortgage ;  equity  requires  that  the  property  be  sold  and  the  surplus  over 
the  amount  of  the  mortgage  returned  to  the  owner.  The  law  will  grant 
damages  for  any  injury  inflicted;  cqtdiy  will,  by  an  injunction,  forbid  a 
repetition  of  the  injury. 

The  judges  of  the  state  courts  were  originally  appointed  by 
the  governors,  or  by  the  legislatures.  With  the  movement 
toward  more  democratic  forms  of  government,  the  selection  of 
states  began  to  introduce  provisions  in  their  consti-  Judges 
tutions  for  the  election  of  judges  by  the  people,  and  they  are 
now  so  chosen  in  most  states,  though  in  a  number  they  are 
appointed  by  the  governor,  and  in  a  few  by  the  legislature.  It 
is  highly  important  that  judges  should  be  controlled  in  their 
decisions  solely  by  the  desire  to  render  justice,  and  that  they 
should  be  removed  as  far  as  possible  from  partisan  influences. 
Popular  election  of  judges  is  most  prevalent  because  it  seems  to 
give  to  the  people  the  most  direct  control  over  their  courts. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  is  opposed  by  many  because  it  makes 
possible  the  election  of  incompetent  judges,  and  because  it 
does  not  necessarily  remove  the  matter  from  partisan  influences. 
In  three  states  (California,  Oregon  and  Arizona)  the  judges 
are  subject  to  recall  by  the  people  (see  p.  391). 

The  terms  during  which  judges  hold  office  also  vary  greatly 
among  the  states.  In  three  states  they  hold  office  for  life 
(Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island  and  New  Hampshire).  In  the 
other  states  their  terms  vary  from  two  to  twenty-one  years. 

It  seems  to  be  the  opinion  of  most  students  that  the  state 
courts  would  be  improved  if  their  judges  were  appointed  by  the 
chief  executive  and  should  hold  office  for  life,  or  during  good 
behavior,  as  is  the  case  in  the  federal  courts  (see  p.  473). 

Investigate  and  report  on : 

Civil  law  and  criminal  law. 

What  makes  an  act  a  "crime." 

Difference  between  a  "crime"  and  a  "misdemeanor." 


442  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

Justices'  courts  in  your  community. 
Procedure  in  a  justice's  court. 
The  organization  of  your  county  court. 
Who  is  your  county  (or  district)  judge. 

Procedure  in  your  county  court,  and  how  it  differs  from  that  in  the  jus- 
tice's court. 

Organization  and  work  of  the  grand  jury. 

How  a  trial  jury  is  selected. 

The  citizen's  duty  to  serve  on  the  jury. 

Rights  of  an  accused  person. 

Meaning  of  "bail,"  "indictment,"  "due  process  of  law,"  "counsel  for 
defense,"  "subpoena,"  "true  bill." 

Circumstances  under  which  an  appeal  may  be  made. 

The  supreme  court  of  your  state. 

The  work  of  a  juvenile  court.  v 

READINGS 

State  Constitution. 

Reports  of  the  several  departments  of  the  state  government. 

In  Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 

Series  B :  Lesson  i8,  How  state  laws  are  made  and  enforced. 

The  Civil  Administrative  Code  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  compiled  by  Louis  L.  Emmer- 
son.     Secretary  of  State,  Springfield,  111. 

The  Illinois  Civil  Administrative  Code,  by  Charles  E.  Woodward,  The  Academy 
of  Political  Science,  Columbia  University,  New  York  City. 

Beard,  Chas.  A.,  American  Government  and  Politics,  Part  iii,  State  government. 

Hart,  A.  B.,  Actual  Government,  Part  iii,  State  governments  in  action. 

Reed,  T.  H.,  Form,  and  Functions  of  American  Government,  Part  iii.  State  govern- 
ment. 

Bryce,  James,  The  American  Commonwealth,  vol.  i,  Part  ii.  The  State  governments. 

In  Long's  American  Patriotic  Prose: 

Invisible  government  (Elihu  Root),  pp.  261-264. 

In  Foerster  and  Pierson's  American  Ideals: 

How  to  Preserve  the  Local  Self-Govemment  of  the  States  (Elihu  Root),  pp.  48-55- 


CHAPTER  XXVII 
OUR  NATIONAL   GOVERNMENT 

It  was  the  necessity  for  team  work  in  carrying  on  the  War 
for  Independence  that  led  the  thirteen  American  colonies  for 
the  first  time  to  unite  under  a  common  govern-  -pjj   j^     i  _ 
ment.     They  had  revolted  to  escape  from  an  auto-   tionary 
cratic  government,  and  they  sought  to  avoid  set-      ovemment 
ting  up  another  in  its  place.     Since  it  had  been  the  king  whom 
they  distrusted  most,  they  endeavored  to  get  along  without 
any  executive  head  at  all.     Their  new  government  consisted 
solely  of  a  Congress  of  delegates  from  the  thirteen  states. 

This  form  of  government  was  continued  for  several  years 
after  the  Revolution  under  a  constitution  known  as  the  Articles 
of  Confederation.     It  was,  however,  unsuccessful 
in  securing  anything  like  real  national  cooperation.       ®  critical 
The  Congress  had  no  power  to  levy  and  collect 
taxes,  it  had  little  power  to  make  laws,  and  it  was  without 
means  to  execute  the  laws  that  it  did  make.     The  real  govern- 
ing power  during  this  period  was  with  the  several  states.     The 
result  was  a  period  of  unutterable  confusion  which  has  been 
called  "the  critical  period  of  American  history."     The  question 
at  stake  was  whether  a  number  of  self-governing  state  communi- 
ties with  a  multitude  of  apparently  conflicting  interests  could 
really  become  a  nation. 

During  the  war  Benjamin  Franklin  had  said,  "We  must  all 
hang  together  or  we  shall  all  hang  separately."     The  states 
had  "hung  together"  sufficiently  to  win  the  war;   The  new  Con- 
but  the  wise  men  of  the  time  now  saw  the  need  for  stitution 
a  government  so  organized  and  with  such  powers  as  to  secure 

443 


444  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

effective  cooperation  among  all  the  states  and  all  the  people 
at  all  times  for  the  welfare  of  the  entire  Union,  while  leaving 
each  state  free  to  manage  its  own  local  affairs.  Therefore 
a  convention  of  delegates  from  all  the  states  was  called  together 
at  Philadelphia  in  1787  to  revise  the  Articles  of  Confederation. 
The  result  was  our  present  Constitution  under  which  our  present 
national  government  went  into  effect  in  1789. 

Investigate  and  report : 

The  nature  and  causes  of  the  confusion  during  "the  critical  period "  of 
American  history. 

The  leading  men  of  the  Constitutional  Convention. 

How  the  states  ratified  the  Constitution. 

Which  of  the  original  thirteen  states  did  not  ratify  the  Constitution  untU 
after  it  had  gone  into  effect. 

The  number  of  states  required  to  ratify  before  the  Constitution  went 
into  effect  (Constitution,  Art.  VII). 

"We,  the  people  of  the  United  States"  "ordained  and  estab- 
lished"   the    Constitution    (see    the   Preamble).     It   was   also 

"ordained"  in  the  Constitution  (Art.  V)  that  it 
troi  through  could  be  amended  only  by  methods  designed  to  give 
the  Con-  iq  (^^g  people  Control  over  the  matter  —  greater 

stitution  ,     ,  ,         ,  ,.  ,  ,  . 

control  than  they  have  over  ordmary  lawmakmg. 

A  great  many  amendments  have  been  proposed  in  the  course  of 
time,  but  only  eighteen  have  so  far  been  adopted,^  ten  of  these 
having  been  adopted  in  the  very  beginning  as  a  condition  on 
which  the  states  would  accept  the  Constitution  at  all.  None 
of  these  amendments  changed  the  form  of  our  government 
except  with  respect  to  the  methods  of  electing  the  President 
and  United  States  senators  (Amendments  XII  and  XVII). 

Explain  the  two  methods  of  proposing,  and  the  two  methods  of  ratifying, 
amendments  (Constitution,  Art.  VII). 

Has  there  ever  been  a  national  constitutional  convention  called  by  the 
states? 

1  A  nineteenth  amendment  is  at  this  writing  before  the  states  for  ratification  — 
the  woman  suffrage  amendment. 


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446  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Which  of  the  two  methods  of  ratifying  was  used  in  the  case  of  the  last 
amendment  adopted?  ^ 

Did  your  state  vote  to  ratify  or  to  reject  the  last  amendment? 

If  any  amendment  is  now  before  the  states  for  ratification,  watch  the 
newspapers  for  the  action  of  the  various  states. 

The  Constitution  adopted  in  1787  has  met  the  needs  of  our 

growing  nation  in  a  most  remarkable  way.     It  would  be  a  mis- 

,.  take,  however,  to  think  that  it  has  always  met  new 

Our  govern-  '  '  ■^ 

ment  a  grow-  conditions  perfectly,  or  that  we  are  governed  to-day 
ing  thing  exactly  as  was  intended  by  the  framers  of  the  Con- 

stitution. Although  few  amendments  have  been  made,  inter- 
pretations have  been  placed  on  the  Constitution  that  were  prob- 
ably unthought  of  by  the  framers  or  by  the  people  who  ratified 
it ;  and  practices  have  grown  up  in  our  government  that  have 
made  it  quite  a  diflferent  government  from  that  which  was 
anticipated.  Our  government  is  a  growing  thing,  and  one  of 
the  chief  merits  of  our  Constitution  is  the  fact  that  it  speaks 
in  such  general  terms  that  it  has  been  possible,  under  it,  to  adapt 
our  government  to  new  and  unexpected  conditions.  In  this 
respect  it  differs  from  the  detailed  state  constitutions  (p.  420). 
On  the  other  hand,  conditions  have  arisen  with  the  growth  of 
our  nation  that  our  Constitution  has  not  enabled  us  to  meet 
Defects  with  the  greatest  success,  and  that  we  have  not 

inevitable  ygt  met  by  amendment.  In  some  cases  we  have 
tried  to  get  around  the  difficulties  by  devices  not  provided  for 
in  the  Constitution,  sometimes  with  unfortunate  results.  But 
a  recognition  of  defects  in  our  government  should  not  cause  us 
to  lose  respect  for  the  Constitution.  They  are  due  not  to  posi- 
tive blunders  on  the  part  of  the  framers,  but  to  the  mere  absence 
of  provision  for  conditions  that  did  not  exist  when  the  Constitu- 
tion was  framed  and  that  could  not  be  foreseen  by  the  wisest 

1  Ohio  by  a  referendum  (see  p.  380)  in  1919  submitted  the  eighteenth  amendment 
to  the  people  of  the  state  for  their  vote,  after  it  had  been  ratified  by  the  legislature. 
This  was  the  first  time  in  our  history  that  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution  was 
submitted  to  popular  vote  for  ratification. 


OUR  NATIONAL   GOVERNMENT  447 

men  of  that  time.  The  wise  course  for  all  good  citizens  is 
to  seek  to  understand  clearly  wherein  our  government  fails  to 
meet  our  needs,  if  it  does  fail,  and  then  to  seek  to  correct  the 
difficulty,  under  the  existing  terms  of  the  Constitution  if  possible, 
or  by  amendment  of  the  Constitution  if  that  becomes  clearly 
necessary.  Amendment  of  the  Constitution  was  purposely 
made  difficult,  and  this  was  doubtless  wise,  for  it  tends  to  pre- 
vent changes  without  full  consideration  of  their  needs  and 
probable  effects. 

Radical  changes  in  our  form  of  government  and  in  our  established  laws 
are  always  fraught  with  danger.  Because  of  the  extreme  complexity  of 
community  life  a  change  effected  at  one  point  to  meet  a  particular  evil  may 
have  consequences  of  the  most  far-reaching  kind  and  in  the  most  unexpected 
directions.  A  change  that  corrects  one  evil  may  produce  conditions  resulting 
in  evils  even  worse  than  the  first.  Changes  are  necessary  at  times,  but  they 
should  be  made  only  after  the  most  careful  consideration  by  men  of  the 
widest  possible  experience. 

One  thing  that  stood  out  clearly  after  the  Revolution  was 
the  fear  of  a  strong  national  government.     Some  of  the  states 
refused  to  ratify  the  Constitution  unless  amend-  xhe  biU  of 
ments  were  added  at  once  guaranteeing  the  liber-   "g^*^ 
ties  of  the  people.     The  first  ten  amendments,  known  as  the 
"bill  of  rights,"  were  the  result.     To  make  sure  that  no  impor- 
tant rights  were  left  unguarded,  the  ninth  amendment  provides 
that  "the  enumeration  in  the  Constitution  of  certain  rights 
shall  not  be  construed  to  deny  or  disparage  others  retained  by 
the  people." 
^    Read  the  first  ten  amendments  and  discuss  the  meaning  of  each. 

It  was  clearly  expected  that  most  of  the  governing  powers  to 
which  the  people  were  subject  should  be  exercised  by  the  states, 
and  not  by  the  national  government.     The  na-  ^  government 
tional  government  was  to  exercise  no  powers  except  of  delegated 
such  as  were  delegated  to  it  in  the  Constitution.   P°^®''^ 
These  powers  are  important  ones,  but  few  in  number,  and  are 


448 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


listed  in  section  8  of  Article  I.  In  order  to  make  this  limitation 
of  powers  perfectly  clear,  the  tenth  amendment  declares  that 
"The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the  Consti- 
tution, nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  states,  are  reserved  to  the 
states  respectively  or  to  the  people."  Certain  powers  were  also 
expressly  denied  to  the  national  government  in  section  9  of 
Article  I. 


President  Wilson  Reading  the  Armistice  Terms  Before 
Congress,  November  ii,  1918 

Discuss  the  meaning  of  each  clause  in  Article  I,  section  8. 
Discuss  the  meaning  of  each  clause  in  Article  I,  section  9. 

The  powers  of  the  national  government  relate  to  interstate 

and  foreign  affairs,  or  to  matters  that  the  several  states  could 

^    not  well  regulate  without  confusion  or  injustice. 
The  scope  of  ®  .  . 

national  For  example,  it  was  chiefly  the  confusion  m  matters 

powers  pertaining  to  trade  in  the  period  following  the  Revo- 

lution that  made  the  new  government  necessary.     Therefore 
power  was  given  to  it  "  to  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  na- 


OUR  NATIONAL   GOVERNMENT  449 

tions  and  among  the  several  states,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes." 
So,  also,  it  was  given  power  "to  coin  money,  regulate  the  value 
thereof,  and  of  foreign  coin,  and  fix  the  standard  of  weights 
and  measures,"  for  varying  systems  of  coinage  and  of  weights 
and  measures  would  be  inconvenient.  For  similar  reasons  it 
was  empowered  "to  establish  post-offices  and  post-roads," 
"to  establish  an  uniform  rule  of  naturalization"  for  immigrants, 
and  "to  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts"  by 
giving  copyrights  and  patents  to  authors  and  inventors.  The 
states,  on  the  other  hand,  were  expressly  forbidden  to  exercise 
any  control  over  some  such  matters  of  national  and  international 
concern  in  section  10  of  Article  I. 

Read  section  10,  Art.  I,  and  discuss  the  reasons  why  the  powers  there 
mentioned  should  have  been  denied  to  the  states. 

Not  only  did  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  carefully  limit 
the  powers  that  the  national  government  might  exercise,  but 
they  also  introduced  into  the  organization  of  the   ,-.  - 

government  various  devices  to  control  it  and  to  checks  and 
prevent  any  of  its  parts  from  assuming  too  much  ^  ances 
power.  The  most  important  of  these  is  the  system  of  checks 
and  balances.  In  our  national  government,  as  in  the  state 
governments  (see  p.  420),  the  legislative,  executive,  and 
judicial  powers  are  separated.  In  early  times  in  England,  the 
king  could  make  any  laws  he  wished,  he  could  enforce  them  as 
he  pleased,  and  he  controlled  the  courts  of  justice.  In  our 
government  the  legislature,  composed  of  representatives  of  the 
people,  makes  the  laws;  the  executive  branch  of  government 
sees  to  their  enforcement ;  and  the  courts,  which  are  responsible 
neither  to  the  legislature  nor  to  the  executive,  interpret  the  laws 
and  administer  justice  in  accordance  with  the  laws.  This  sepa- 
ration of  powers  is  to  prevent  any  one  person  or  group  of  persons 
from  exercising  too  much  power,  as  the  king  did,  and  is  a  safe- 
guard to  the  liberty  of  the  people.     But  the  separation  of  powers 


450  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

is  not  complete.  Each  branch  of  government  has  a  limited  control 
over  the  others.  This  constitutes  the  system  of  checks  and  bal- 
ances, which  still  further  protects  the  people's  liberties. 

While  the  President  cannot  make  the  laws,  he  is  given  a  check  upon  the 
lawmaking  power  of  Congress  by  his  veto  power.  On  the  other  hand,  he 
cannot,  by  an  excessive  use  of  his  veto  power,  destroy  the  lawmaking  power 
of  Congress,  because  Congress  may  pass  laws  over  the  President's  veto  by 
means  of  a  two-thirds  vote. 

The  President  cannot  make  a  treaty,  nor  appoint  men  to  office,  without 
the  consent  of  the  senate;  neither  can  he  exercise  his  executive  powers 
until  Congress  votes  him  the  necessary  money. 

If  Congress  passes  a  law  that  is  contrary  to  the  Constitution  the  courts 
may  declare  the  law  void,  and  the  executive  cannot  enforce  it.  The  courts, 
on  the  other  hand,  are  in  a  measure  under  the  control  of  both  Congress  and 
the  President,  for  Congress  may  create  and  destroy  courts  (except  those 
created  by  the  Constitution),  and  the  President,  with  the  consent  of  the 
senate,  appoints  the  judges. 

The  "checks  and  balances"  in  the  organization  of  our  govern- 
ment have  been  very  effective  in  accomplishing  the  purpose 
for  which  they  were  intended,  namely,  to  protect 

d  (T^^d-^  the  liberties  of  the  people  against  despotic  govern- 
vantages  of  ment.  But  they  have  also,  at  times,  been  an 
bafan^  s'^  obstacle  to  team  work  and  to  effective  service.  It 
sometimes  happens,  for  example,  that  the  Presi- 
dent represents  one  political  party,  while  the  majority  of  one 
or  both  houses  of  Congress  are  of  the  opposing  party.  The 
two  branches  of  government  may  then  enter  into  a  struggle 
on  partisan  grounds,  each  trying  to  defeat  the  program  of  the 
other.  Such  a  situation  was  probably  unforeseen  by  the  fram- 
ers  of  the  Constitution,  although  it  again  reminds  us  of  Wash- 
ington's warning  with  regard  to  the  dangers  of  the  party  spirit 

(p.  385). 

With  the  growth  of  our  nation,  the  national  government  has 
come  to  perform  a  vast  amount  of  service,  as  we  have  seen  in 
earlier  chapters,  and  to  regulate  the  lives  of  the  people  in  a 


OUR  NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT  451 

multitude  of  ways  little  dreamed  of  by  the  makers  of  the  Con- 
stitution.    This  has  been  possible  because  of  the  principle  of 

implied  powers  in   the   Constitution.     This  means 
,  r     1  1  1-1        The  implied 

tnat  some  of  the  powers  expressly  granted  m  the  powers  of  the 

Constitution  have  been  broadly  interpreted  to  imply  national 
powers  not  expressly  stated.  There  are  certain 
clauses  in  the  Constitution  that  especially  lend  themselves  to 
such  broad  interpretation.  For  example,  after  the  enumeration 
of  the  powers  which  Congress  may  exercise,  in  section  8  of 
Article  I,  clause  18  of  that  section  gives  Congress  power  "to 
make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for  carrying 
into  execution  the  foregoing  powers  ..."  Another  clause 
whose  liberal  interpretation  has  been  responsible  for  much  of 
the  service  performed  by  the  national  government  is  that  giv- 
ing it  the  power  to  regulate  interstate  commerce  (Art.  I,  sec.  8, 
clause  3). 

In  the  early  days  of  our  government  the  FederaHst  party,  under  the 
leadership  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  proposed  the  creation  of  a  national  hank. 
The  Republican  party  under  Jefferson  opposed  this  because  the  Constitution 
did  not  expressly  provide  for  it,  and  because  it  was  feared  that  it  would  give 
the  national  government  too  much  power.  But  the  "broad  construction- 
ists" argued  that  a  national  bank  was  a  "necessary  and  proper"  means 
to  enable  the  national  government  "to  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the 
United  States"  and  to  exercise  other  financial  powers  expressly  granted  in 
the  Constitution.  The  supreme  court  of  the  United  States  supported  the 
latter  view,  and  the  national  bank  became  a  fact. 

The  building  of  roads  and  other  internal  improvements  by  the  national 
government  have  always  been  opposed  by  the  "strict  constructionists," 
except  where  roads  were  clearly  "post-roads"  (Art.  I,  sec.  8,  cl.  7).  But  the 
"broad  constructionists"  argued  that  roads  were  "necessary  and  proper" 
to  provide  "for  the  common  defense,"  and  also  as  a  means  "to  regulate 
commerce  among  the  several  states." 

Most  of  the  work  that  the  national  government  has  done  for  the  promo- 
tion of  the  public  health,  such  as  the  passage  and  enforcement  of  the  "  pure 
food  and  drugs  act,"  the  inspection  of  livestock  and  of  slaughter-houses, 
and  the  attempt  to  regulate  chUd  labor,  has  been  done  under  the  authority 
of  the  clause  giving  Congress  power  to  regulate  interstate  commerce. 


452  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

It  has  been  the  duty  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 

to  decide  finally  whether  much  of  the  new  service  undertaken 

by  the  national  government  is  in  accordance  with 
Expansion  of       ,       ^  .        .  i     i  •  i         i 

powers  by         the  Constitution  or  not,  and  this  court  has  t3een 

judicial  responsible  for  most  of  the  expansion  of  the  serv- 

ice rendered,  because  of  its  liberal  interpretation 
of  the  Constitution. 

Why  should  the  power  to  regulate  interstate  commerce  also  give  Con- 
gress the  power  to  require  the  inspection  of  cattle  in  your  neighborhood? 
or  to  forbid  the  use  of  harmful  substances  in  patent  medicines  ?  or  to  forbid 
the  employment  in  factories  of  children  ? 

Find  out  what  you  can  about  the  influence  of  John  Marshall,  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  in  extending  the  powers  of  the  national 
government. 

The  Constitution  vests  the  executive  power  in  the  President 

of  the  United  States  (Art.  II,  sec.  i),  and  he  alone  is  responsible 

to  the  people  for  the  execution  of  the  laws.     The 
The  executive  i-     i 

centralized  people  are  protected  against  abuse  of  this  power  in 
and  controlled  ^^^^  hands  of  one  man  by  various  constitutional 
provisions.  The  President's  term  of  office  is  limited  to  four 
years,  though  he  may  be  reelected.  In  case  of  improper  conduct 
in  office,  he  may  be  removed  by  impeachment.  The  impeach- 
ment charges  must  be  brought  against  him  by  the  House  of 
Representatives,  and  the  Senate,  presided  over  by  the  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  must  act  as  a  court  to  try  the 
case.  Moreover,  even  the  President  must  act  according  to  law, 
and  in  so  far  as  his  duties  are  not  prescribed  by  the  Constitution 
they  are  prescribed  by  Congress.  Congress  must  also  create 
the  machinery  by  which  the  President  executes  the  laws,  and  it 
must  appropriate  the  necessary  money.  The  Senate  exercises 
a  further  control  over  the  President  in  that  it  must  approve  all 
appointments  and  all  treaties  made  by  him. 

The  method  of  electing  the  President  provided  in  the  Con- 
stitution was  intended  to  insure  a  wise  choice,  and  also  shows 


OUR   NATIONAL   GOVERNMENT  453 

a  lack  of  complete  confidence  in  the  people  on  the  part  of  the 
f  ramers  of  the  Constitution.     He  was  to  be  elected  by  a  body  of 
electors,  chosen  by  the  several  states  "in  such  manner  j^g^ijo^j  ^f 
as  the  legislatures  thereof  may  direct,"  the  number  electing  the 
of  electors  from  each  state  to  equal  the  whole  number 
of  senators  and  representatives  from  that  state  (Art.  II,  sec.  2). 
These  electors  were  originally  chosen  by  the  legislatures  of  the 
states,  but  are  now  elected  by  the  people.     When  voters  "vote 
for  the  President"  every  four  years,  they  in  reality  only  vote 
for  these  electors  who,  in  turn,  cast  their  votes  for  the  President. 

In  the  method  of  electing  the  President  we  find  one  of  the 
points  where  the  intention  of  the  framers  of  the  Constitution 
has  clearly  been  thwarted.     It  was  obviously  the 
intention  that  the  electors  chosen  by  the  states  fro^the'^fn- 
should  use  their  own  discretion  in  the  choice  of  the  tention  of 
President.     But  in  practice  to-day,  the  entire  body   ^y^on^^^  *' 
of  electors  from  each  state  always  represents  the 
victorious  political  party,  and  casts  its  vote  invariably  for  the 
presidential  candidate  already  nominated  by   the   party   ma- 
chinery (see  p.  391).     We   still   elect   the   electors,   and   the 
electors  go  through  the  form  of  electing  the  President ;  but  their 
part  in  the  procedure  is  now  entirely  useless. 

The  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  is  elected  at  the 
same  time  and  by  the  same  method  as  the  President.     But  he 
has  no  executive  duties  whatever  so  long  as  the  xhe  Vice- 
President  is  capable  of  performing  his  duties.     In   President 
order  that  he  might  have  something  to  do,  he  was  made  pre- 
siding ofiicer  of  the  Senate,  but  even  there  he  has  no  vote. 

Investigate  and  report : 

The  qualifications  necessary  to  hold  the  office  of  President  (Const.,  Art. 
II,  sec.  I,  cl.  5). 

How  the  electors  elect  the  President  (Const.,  Amend.  XII). 

Who  would  become  President  if  both  the  President  and  the  Vice-President 
should  die. 


454  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

The  salary  of  the  President. 

The  oath  taken  by  the  President  on  assuming  office.     The  difference  be- 
tween an  oath  and  an  affirmation  (Art.  II,  sec.  i,  cl.  8). 
The  powers  of  the  President  (Art.  II,  sec.  2). 
A  President  who  was  impeached. 
Why  no  President  has  been  elected  for  a  third  term. 
Advantages  and  disadvantages  of  a  longer  term  for  the  President. 

The  President  is  at  the  head  of  a  stupendous  service  organiza- 
tion which  was  not  ready-made  by  the  Constitution,  but  which 

has  been  gradually  created  by  acts  of  Congress 
Growth  of  the  .  1   •        t    j  t^u      r^ 

national  under  its  express  and  implied  powers.     Ine  Lon- 

service  or-  stitution  did  not  even  create  the  great  adminis- 
trative departments  through  which  the  President 
works,  although  it  implied  that  such  departments  should  be 
created:  "The  President  .  .  .  may  require  the  opinion,  in 
writing,  of  the  principal  officer  in  each  of  the  executive  depart- 
ments, upon  any  subject  relating  to  the  duties  of  their  respective 
offices"  (Art.  II,  sec.  2,  cl.  i).  The  heads  of  these  departments 
are  appointed  by  the  President,  are  responsible  to  him,  and  may 
be  removed  by  him.  Together  they  constitute  the  President's 
cabinet,  meeting  with  him  frequently  to  discuss  the  affairs  of 
their  departments  and  matters  of  public  policy. 

Five  of  these  administrative  departments  were  created  during 
Washington's  administration.     These  five  have  grown  to  cover 

T,.       ,    .  .  a  multitude  of  activities  that  were  not  at  first  con- 
The  adminis- 
trative de-  templated,  and  five  other  great  departments  have 
partments  ^^^^^  y^^^^  created. 

The  Department  of  State  maintains  relations  between  the  United  States 
and  foreign  powers.  The  Secretary  of  State,  acting  for  the  President, 
negotiates  treaties  with  foreign  governments,  and  is  in  constant  communi- 
cation with  the  ambassadors,  ministers,  consuls,  and  other  representatives 
of  our  government  in  foreign  countries,  and  with  similar  representatives 
of  foreign  governments  in  this  country.  This  department  is  the  medium  of 
communication  between  the  President  and  the  governors  of  the  several  states. 
The  Secretary  of  State  has  in  his  keeping  the  treaties  and  laws  of  the  United 


OUR   NATIONAL   GOVERNMENT 


455 


States,  and  also  the  Great  Seal  of  the  United  States,  which  he  affixes  to 
proclamations,  commissions,  and  other  official  papers.  Through  him  the 
rights  of  American  citizens  in  foreign  countries  are  looked  after.  He  is 
first  in  rank  among  the  members  of  the  cabinet,  and  by  law  would  succeed 
to  the  Presidency  in  case  of  the  death  or  disability  of  both  the  President  and 
the  Vice-President. 

The  Department  of  tJie  Treasury  has  at  its  head  the  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury, who  is  the  financial  manager  of  the  national  government.     He  prepares 


President  Wilson  and  His  Cabinet  as  First  Constituted 


plans  for,  and  superintends  the  collection  of,  the  pubHc  revenues;  deter- 
mines the  manner  of  keeping  the  public  accounts ;  directs  the  coinage  and 
printing  of  money.  He  also  controls  the  construction  and  maintenance  of 
public  buildings,  and  administers  the  public  health  service  and  the  life-saving 
service. 

The  Department  of  War  is  directed  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  who,  under 
the  President,  controls  the  military'  establishment  and  superintends  the 
national  defense.  He  also  administers  river  and  harbor  improvements, 
the  prevention  of  obstruction  to  navigation,  and  the  building  of  bridges 
over  navigable  rivers  when  authorized  by  Congress.  He  also  has  direction 
of  the  Bureau  of  Insular  Affairs,  which  supervises  the  government  of  Porto 
Rico  and  the  Philippines. 


456  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

The  Department  of  Justice  has  at  its  head  the  Attorney  General, 
who  is  the  chief  law  officer  of  the  government,  and  represents  it  in  all 
matters  of  a  legal  nature.  He  is  the  legal  adviser  of  the  President  and 
of  the  several  executive  departments,  and  supervises  all  United  States 
attorneys  and  marshals  in  the  judicial  districts  into  which  the  country 
is  divided. 

The  Post-Office  Department  is  administered  by  the  Postmaster  General 
(see  pp.  279-282). 

The  Department  of  the  Navy,  under  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  has  charge 
of  the  "construction,  manning,  equipment,  and  employment  of  vessels  of 
war." 

The  Department  of  the  Interior  was  created  to  relieve  the  Department 
of  State  of  work  relating  to  internal  affairs,  and  now  embraces  a  wide  variety 
of  duties.  At  its  head  is  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior.  Through  many 
bureaus  and  divisions  it  administers  the  public  lands,  the  national  parks, 
the  giving  of  patents  for  inventions,  the  pensioning  of  soldiers,  Indian  affairs, 
education,  the  reclamation  service,  the  geological  survey,  the  improvement 
of  mining  methods  for  the  safety  of  miners,  certain  matters  pertaining  to 
the  territories  of  the  United  States,  and  certain  institutions  in  the  District 
of  Columbia. 

The  Department  of  Agriculture  is  directed  by  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture. 
Its  work  is  described  in  Chapter  XII. 

The  Department  of  Commerce,  under  the  Secretary  of  Commerce,  pro- 
motes the  commercial  interests  of  the  country  in  many  ways.  It  includes 
in  its  organization  the  Bureau  of  Foreign  and  Domestic  Commerce,  the 
Bureau  of  Corporations,  the  Census  Bureau,  the  Bureau  of  Lighthouses, 
the  Bureau  of  Navigation,  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  and  the  Bureau  of 
Standards. 

The  Department  of  Labor,  under  the  Secretary  of  Labor,  has  for  its  pur- 
pose "fostering,  promoting,  and  developing  the  welfare  of  the  wage  earners 
of  the  United  States,  improving  their  working  conditions,  and  advancing 
their  opportunities  for  profitable  employment."  Among  its  important 
bureaus  are  those  of  Immigration  and  of  Naturalization,  and  the  Children's 
Bureau,  which  investigates  and  reports  upon  "all  matters  pertaining  to  the 
welfare  of  children  and  child  life  among  all  classes  of  our  people." 

In  addition  to  these  great  administrative  departments  with 

^,.        ,    .       their  numerous  bureaus  and   subdivisions,    there 
Other  admin- 

istrative  are  various  boards,  commissions  and  estabhshments 

agencies  ^^^^^  ^^^  independent  of  the  departments. 


OUR   NATIONAL   GOVERNMENT  457 

Some  of  the  most  important  of  these  are  the  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mission, the  Civil  Service  Commission  (see  below),  the  Federal  Reserve 
Board,  the  Federal  Trade  Commission,  the  United  States  Tariff  Commission, 
the  Board  of  Mediation  and  Conciliation,  the  United  States  Bureau  of 
Efficiency,  the  Federal  Board  of  Vocational  Education,  the  Panama  Canal. 

Of  another  kind  are  the  Library  of  Congress  which  includes  the  Copy- 
right Office ;  the  Government  Printing  Office ;  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
including  the  National  Museum  and  the  National  Zoological  Park. 

There  are  many  others.  During  the  recent  war  a  great  variety  of  new 
administrative  commissions  and  boards  were  created  for  the  emergency. 
Most  of  these  have  been,  or  are  to  be,  discontinued,  though  some  of  them 
may  survive.  Such  were  the  Council  of  National  Defense,  the  Committee 
on  Public  Information,  the  Food  Administration,  the  Fuel  Administration, 
the  United  States  Shipping  Board,  the  War  Trade  Board,  the  Director 
General  of  Railroads. 

The  detailed  work  of  this  vast  service  organization  is  carried 
on  by  about  400,000  employees  (not  counting  the  army  and  the 
navy) .  These  constitute  the  civil  service.  The  The  civil 
quality  of  service  depends  largely  upon  the  ef-  service 
ficiency  of  these  employees.  The  task  of  filling  all  these  places 
is  a  large  one.  In  Andrew  Jackson's  administration  (1829- 
1837)  the  "spoils  system"  was  introduced,  which  means  that 
government  positions  were  treated  by  the  victorious  party  as 
"  the  spoils  of  victory,"  to  be  given  to  members  of  the  victorious 
party  as  rewards  for  party  service  without  much  regard  to 
fitness  for  the  work  to  be  done.  Whenever  the  administration 
passed  from  one  party  to  another,  the  army  of  civil  service 
employees  was  displaced  by  another  of  new  employees.  Not 
only  did  this  result  in  inefficient  service,  but  the  time  of  the 
President  and  the  heads  of  the  departments  was  largely  con- 
sumed in  considering  the  claims  of  those  seeking  appointment. 

Moreover,  since  appointments  could  be  made  only  "with  the 
advice  and  consent"  of  the  Senate,  senators  were  besieged  by 
applicants  for  positions  and  their  friends.  The  President, 
overwhelmed  by  the  multitude  of  appointments  to  be  made, 
came  to  rely  almost  wholly  upon  the  advice  of  the  senators, 


458 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


and  even  of  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  for  ap- 
pointments in  their  states  and  districts.  Thus,  in  effect, 
appointments  were  made  by  members  of  Congress  rather  than 
by  the  President  who  was  really  responsible.  No  system  could 
have  been  devised  more  wasteful  of  the  time  of  the  executive 
and  legislative  branches  of  the  government,  or  more  conducive 
to  inefficiency. 


The  White  House,  South  Front 

The  spoils  system  became  a  great  offense  to  the  nation,  but 
it  was  not  until  President  Garfield  was  murdered  by  a  dis- 
Reform  of  appointed  office  seeker  that  Congress,  in  1883, 
the  civU  passed  a  law  for  the  reform  of  the  civil  service, 

service  Candidates  for  many  positions  in  the  civil  service 

were  required  to  pass  an  examination  designed  to  prove  their 
fitness  for  the  work  to  be  done,  and  a  civil  service  commission 
was  created  to  administer  the  law  and  to  conduct  the  examina- 
tions, which  are  held  at  stated  intervals  in  different  parts  of 
the  country.    Those  appointed  under  this  system  cannot  be 


OUR  NATIONAL   GOVERNMENT  459 

removed  except  for  cause.  Even  at  the  present  time,  however, 
only  about  half  of  the  civil  service  is  subject  to  this  merit  system. 
From  the  above  description  of  the  work  of  the  several  execu- 
tive departments  select  topics  for  special  investigation  and 
report ;   such  as : 

The  work  of  United  States  Consuls. 

Coining  money ;   the  United  States  Bureau  of  Engraving. 

The  life-saving  service  of  the  United  States. 

The  United  States  Army  in  war  and  peace. 

The  United  States  Army  as  an  organization  to  save  life,  especially  in  its 
work  of  sanitation  in  territories  occupied. 

Representatives  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Justice  in  your  com- 
munity, and  examples  of  their  work. 

Building  a  battleship.     Training  for  the  navy. 

Exploits  of  the  navy  in  war.     The  work  of  the  na\'y  in  time  of  peace. 

The  work  of  the  patent  office;  of  the  bureau  of  Indian  affairs;  of  the 
geological  survey ;  of  the  bureau  of  mines. 

Taking  the  United  States  census. 

The  work  of  the  bureau  of  fisheries. 

Marvels  of  the  bureau  of  standards. 

The  immigration  bureau. 

Work  of  the  children's  bureau. 

How  an  immigrant  is  naturalized. 

The  Government  Printing  Office. 

The  Congressional  Library. 

The  spoils  system  in  Atidrew  Jackson's  administration. 

How  would  you  go  about  it  to  take  an  examination  for  the  civil  service? 

Is  there  any  reason  why  a  mail  carrier  or  a  clerk  in  a  government  office 
should  be  a  Republican  or  a  Democrat? 

What  employees  of  the  United  States  civil  service  are  there  in  your 
community? 

Efficient    government    requires    strong,    clearly    recognized 

leadership.     Democratic  government  requires  that 

1       1  •        1     11  1  •  1  J        r    Responsive 

Its  leadership  shall  be  responsive  to  the  needs  oi   andrespon- 

the  people  and  under  their  control.     The  problem   sibie  leader- 

of  how  to  secure  strong  leadership  and  controlled 

leadership  at  one  and  the  saine  tirne  i§  9-  diflScult  one.     So  far 


46o  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

as  the  executive  branch  of  government  alone  is  concerned,  the 
framers  of  the  Constitution  secured  strength  by  concentrating 
full  responsibility  in  the  President.  But  did  they  expect  him 
to  be  their  leader  in  the  government  as  a  whole;  that  is,  in 
formulating  the  policies  of  government  that  should  serve  as  the 
basis  for  legislation?  We  are  in  the  habit  of  thinking  of  him 
as  our  national  leader,  but  was  he  made  so  in  fact  ? 

In  fact,  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  were  apparently 
more  concerned  about  maintaining  control  over  the  President 
Leadership  of  than  about  clearly  making  him  the  nation's  leader, 
the  President  About  the  only  indication  the  Constitution  contains 
that  he  was  to  be  such  a  leader  is  the  statement  that  he  "shall 
from  time  to  time  give  to  the  Congress  information  of  the  state 
of  the  Union,  and  recommend  to  their  consideration  such 
measures  as  he  shall  judge  necessary  and  expedient"  (Art.  II, 
sec.  3).  He  does  submit  recommendations  to  Congress  at  the 
opening  of  each  of  its  terms  and  often  at  other  times.  If  the 
President  and  the  majority  in  Congress  are  of  the  same  political 
party,  Congress  is  pretty  likely  to  follow  the  President's  lead ; 
or,  if  the  President  has  a  commanding  personality  and  is  clearly 
popular  with  the  people,  he  may  force  measures  through  even 
an  unwilling  Congress.  But  if  differences  arise  between  the 
President  and  Congress,  especially  when  one  or  both  houses  of 
Congress  are  of  the  opposite  party  from  the  President,  his 
recommendations  may  be  entirely  ignored.  By  our  system  of 
"checks  and  balances"  the  President  is  "controlled,"  but  he 
ceases  to  be  a  leader  when  he  does  not  have  the  "following" 
of  Congress,  or  of  the  majority  of  the  people. 

President  Wilson  began  his  second  administration  with  a  majority  in 
both  houses  of  Congress  of  his  political  party,  and  apparently  in  popular 
favor.  He  was  clearly  accepted  as  leader  and  practically  all  of  his  proposed 
measures  were  favorably  acted  upon  by  Congress.  In  the  middle  of  this 
administration  a  congressional  election  occurred  which  resulted  in  a  majority 
in  both  houses  of  the  opposing  party.  This  result  might  be  considered  as 
a  popular  vote  against  the  leadership  of  the  President,  and  his  opponents 


OUR  NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT  461 

did  consider  it  so.  It  cannot  be  absolutely  certain  that  this  was  intended, 
for  the  people  were  not  voting  directly  on  this  question.  Whether  this  was 
true  or  not,  Congress  refused  to  follow  his  leadership  in  many  important 
questions,  including  the  treaty  of  peace  with  Germany. 

It  will  be  helpful  to  compare  this  situation  with   r    *   1    f 
the  method  by  which  England  has  worked  out  the  leadership  in 
problem  of  leadership  and  control  of  leadership.         England 

The  real  executive  head  in  the  English  government  is  the  prime  minister. 
The  king  appoints  the  prime  minister,  but  he  always  chooses  for  the  position 
the  recognized  leader  of  the  political  party  thai  is  in  the  majority  in  the  House 
of  Commons  (which  corresponds  to  our  House  of  Representatives). 

The  prime  minister  having  been  appointed,  he  then  selects  the  other 
members  of  his  cabinet,  who  are  to  be  the  heads  of  the  executive  depart- 
ments, and  who  are  also  members  of  parliament. 

The  prime  minister  and  the  other  members  of  the  cabinet  have  seats 
in  the  House  of  Commons,  contrary  to  the  practice  in  our  country.  They 
also  take  the  lead  in  legislation,  for  most  of  the  important  bills  considered 
in  the  House  of  Commons  are  planned  and  introduced  by  the  cabinet.  So 
the  executive  and  legislative  branches  of  the  English  government  are  not 
separated  as  in  our  country.  The  same  group  of  men  manage  the  service 
organization  and  lead  in  planning  the  legislation  that  makes  the  service 
possible. 

It  sometimes  happens,  however,  that  the  cabinet  introduces  a  measure 
which,  after  discussion,  a  majority  of  the  House  of  Commons  rejects.  This 
means  that  on  this  question  the  cabinet  no  longer  represents  the  majority 
in  the  House.  Then  one  of  two  things  happens.  Either  the  cabinet  resigns 
in  a  body  to  make  way  for  a  new  cabinet  that  does  represent  the  majority ; 
or  the  prime  minister  asks  for  a  general  election  for  members  of  the  House  of 
Commons.  If  at  this  election  a  majority  is  again  returned  that  is  opposed  to 
the  cabinet,  it  means  that  the  cabinet  no  longer  leads  the  people,  and  it 
resigns.  If  a  majority  is  returned  in  support  of  the  cabinet,  it  means  that 
the  old  House  was  no  longer  representative  of  the  people,  and  the  old 
cabinet  retains  its  leadership. 

This  system  gives  the  English  people  more  direct  control  over  their  govern- 
ment than  we  have  in  our  country ;  it  is  very  much  like  the  method  of  recall 
that  is  used  in  some  of  our  states  (see  p.  sgi).  At  the  same  time,  it  assures 
a  real  executive  leadership  within  the  government,  a  leadership  that  is  both 
responsive  and  responsible  to  the  people. 


462 


COMMUNITY   CIVICS 


Not  only  does  our  Constitution  fail  to  provide  clearly  for 
responsible  leadership  within  the  government,  but  our  system  of 
Growth  of  "checks  and  balances,"  our  party  system  of  govern- 
irresponsibie  ment,  and  the  organization  and  rules  of  Congress, 
leadership  ^jj  taken  together,  have  tended  to  confuse  our 
leadership,  and  to  impose  upon  us  an  irresponsible  leadership, 
outside  of  the  government  as  outlined  by  the  Constitution.     To 


The  Capitol  at  Washington 

understand  this  it  will  first  be  necessary  to  examine  the  organiza- 
tion of  Congress. 

Congress,  like  the  state  legislatures,  consists  of  two  chambers, 

the  House  of  Representatives  and  the  Senate ;  this 

ongress  ^^-^^  another  instance  of  "checks  and  balances." 

The  creation  of  two  chambers  in  the  Congress  made  possible  a  satisfactory- 
settlement  of  a  dispute  in  the  Constitutional  Convention  with  regard  to  the 
basis  of  representation.  The  larger  states  wanted  representation  propor- 
tional to  their  population,  while  the  smaller  states  insisted  upon  equal 


OUR  NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT  463 

representation  for  all  the  states.  It  was  settled  that  there  should  be  equal 
representation  in  the  Senate,  and  proportional  representation  in  the  House 
of  Representatives.  This  is  one  of  a  series  of  compromises  that  had  to 
be  made  between  the  two  parties  in  the  convention.  In  fact,  the  Constitu- 
tion is  a  series  of  compromises  from  beginning  to  end.  Only  thirty-nine  of 
the  fifty-five  delegates  in  the  convention  signed  the  Constitution,  and  it  is 
probable  that  no  one  even  of  the  thirty-nine  was  wholly  pleased  with  it. 

The  number  of  representatives  in  the  first  Congress  from 
each  state  was  fixed  in  the  Constitution,  and  provision  made  for  a 
census  in  1790  and  every  ten  years  thereafter,  on  ^j^^  House  of 
the  basis  of  which  a  reapportionment  should  be  Representa- 
made.  At  present  there  are  435  members  of  the 
House,  one  for  about  every  212,000  of  the  population.  They 
are  elected  by  direct  vote  of  the  people,  one  from  each  of  the 
congressional  districts  into  which  each  state  is  divided,  and  for 
a  term  of  two  years. 

There  are  two  senators  from  each  state.     The  Constitution 
provided  that  they  were  to  be  elected  by  the  state  legislatures, 

another  evidence  of   distrust  of   the  people.     In 

The  Senate 
191 3,  the  seventeenth  amendment  to  the  Con- 
stitution was  enacted,  providing  for  the  election  of  senators 
by  popular  vote,  showing  the  growing  spirit  of  democracy  and 
the  distrust  of  the  state  legislatures  (see  p.  429).  Senators 
are  elected  for  six  years,  but  the  term  of  only  one  third  of  them 
expires  at  the  same  time,  so  that  at  least  two  thirds  of  the  Senate 
have  always  had  at  least  two  years'  experience.  No  citizen 
may  become  a  senator  until  he  is  thirty  years  of  age,  while  one 
may  become  a  member  of  the  lower  house  at  twenty-five. 

The  House  of  Representatives  has  one  important  power  not 
possessed  by  the  Senate :  it  alone  can  originate  bills  for  raising 
revenue.     This  is  because  the  representatives  were  Exclusive 
supposed  to  be  more  directly  representative  of  the   powers  of 
people  than  the  senators.     However,  the  Senate 
may  amend  such  bills,  and  often  succeeds  in  forcing  the  House 
to  accept  such  radical  amendments  as  practically  to  destroy 


464  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

the  advantage  possessed  by  the  latter  in  its  power  to  originate 
the  bills. 

In  addition  to  its  lawmaking  powers,  the  Senate  was  intended 
to  be  an  advisory  council  to  the  President.  Only  with  its 
"advice  and  consent"  may  the  President  make  appointments 
and  treaties. 

Investigate  and  report  on  the  following : 

The  compromises  of  the  Constitution. 

The  census  of  1920. 

The  number  of  congressional  districts  in  your  state,  and  the  number  of 
the  one  you  live  in. 

The  names  of  your  representative  and  senators. 

The  qualifications  for  election  to  the  House  of  Representatives  and  to 
the  Senate  (Art.  I,  sees.  2  and  3).  Compare  with  the  qualifications  for 
election  to  the  two  houses  of  your  legislature. 

The  characteristics  of  the  Senate  that  make  it  more  conservative  than 
the  House  of  Representatives.     The  meaning  of  "conservatism." 

Why  the  Senate  should  be  more  conservative  than  the  House. 

The  "long"  and  "short"  sessions  of  Congress. 

How  vacancies  in  Congress  are  filled  between  elections. 

Legislation  in  which  the  representative  from  your  district  has  been  espe- 
cially interested  during  the  last  session  of  Congress. 

In  England  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons  is  not  required  to  be  a 
resident  of  the  district  which  he  represents.  Arguments  for  and  against 
this  plan. 

Debate  the  question  :  Resolved,  that  our  Constitution  should  be  amended 
to  provide  for  a  "responsible  cabinet  government"  as  in  England. 

The  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate  is  the  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States,  while  that  of  the  House  of  Representatives  is  a 
Organization  Speaker  elected  by  the  House.  The  Vice-President 
of  Congress  ^^s  no  vote  in  the  Senate  except  in  case  of  a  tie, 
when  he  may  cast  the  deciding  vote.  The  Speaker,  on  the  other 
hand,  has  all  the  rights  of  any  other  member  and  has  large 
powers  by  virtue  of  his  position.  He  is  always  elected  by 
a  strictly  party  vote,  and  therefore  represents  the  majority 
party  in  the  House. 


OUR   NATIONAL   GOVERNMENT 


465 


As  in  the  state  legislatures,  and  for  the  same  reason,  most  of 
the  work  of  legislation  in  Congress  is  done  by  standing  com- 
mittees, of  which  there  are  about  sixty  in  the  The  com- 
House  and  about  seventy-five  in  the  Senate.  As  "^"ee  system 
in  the  state  legislatures,  these  committees  are  chosen  on  party 
lines,  the  chairmen  and  the  majority  of  the  members  always 
being  of  the  majority  party. 
The  procedure  by  which 
legislation  is  carried  on  in 
Congress  is  very  much  the 
same  as  that  in  the  state 
legislatures  (see  p.  431), 
and  has  the  same  advan- 
tages and  disadvantages. 
There  is  even  greater  ne- 
cessity for  the  committee 
organization  and  for  rules 
because  of  the  vastly 
greater  number  of  bills  in- 
troduced. In  a  recent 
Congress  more  than  33,000 
bills  were  introduced  in 
the  House  of  Representa- 
tives alone.  Whereas  in 
the  state  legislatures  some 
of  the  rules  of  procedure  are 

fixed  by  the  state  constitutions,  the  rules  of  Congress  are  deter- 
mined entirely  by  each  house  for  itself.  The  committee  on  rules 
in  each  house,  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and 
the  chairmen  of  the  committees  in  both  houses,  may  run  things 
as  they  see  fit.  That  this  is  done  there  is  plenty  of  evidence, 
such  as  the  following  words  of  a  member  of  Congress : 

You  send  important  questions  to  a  committee,  you  put  into  the  hands 
of  a  few  men  the  power  to  bring  in  bills,  and  then  they  are  brought  in  with  an 


Taking  the  United  States  Census 

A  census  enumerator  working  on  the  East 
Side  of  New  York  City. 


466       '  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

ironclad  rule,  and  rammed  down  the  throats  of  members ;  and  then  those 
measures  are  sent  out  as  being  the  deliberate  judgment  of  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States  when  no  deliberate  judgment  has  been  expressed  by  any 


It  is  this  procedure  in  Congress  that  causes  leadership  to  be- 
come diffused,  hidden,  and  often  to  pass  outside  of  the  govern- 
jj.g      ,  ment  altogether  into  the  hands  of  "bosses"  and 

leadership  special  "interests."  There  can  be  no  well-con- 
in  Congress  ceived  plan  worked  out  by  responsible  leaders  and 
approved  by  Congress  as  a  whole.  There  may  be  "plans," 
worked  out  by  leaders  in  Congress,  but  they  are  likely  to  be 
plans  designed  to  serve  party  ends  rather  than  to  promote  a 
well-thought-out  program  of  national  development.  Thousands 
of  bills  of  the  greatest  variety  are  introduced  by  individual 
members  and  handled  by  different  committees  acting  inde- 
pendently of  one  another  and  often  at  cross  purposes. 

The  legislative  and  executive  branches  of  government  are 

each  extremely  jealous  of  any  encroachment  upon  its  powers 

by  the  other.     It  is  not  always  easy  to  decide  just 

Relation  be-  •^yhgre  the  dividing  line  lies  between  the  powers 
tween  execu-  *  ... 

tive  and  properly  exercised  by  each.     It  is  maintained  on 

legislative  ^j^^  ^^^  hand  that  Congress  is  encroaching  on  the 
rightful  domain  of  the  executive  ;  and  at  least  it  is 
true  that  while  it  denies  the  President  responsible  leadership 
in  determining  the  policies  of  the  government,  it  has  failed  to 
substitute  any  other  responsible  leadership,  and  has  even  made 
leadership  obscure.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  maintained  that 
the  executive  encroaches  upon  the  powers  of  Congress.  While 
this  chapter  was  being  written  a  member  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives made  a  speeoii  in  which  he  said : 

This  bill  presents  a  fine  specimen  of  bureaucratic  legislation.^  If  the 
Congress  ever  intends,  as  it  surely  does,  to  regain  the  powers  granted  it  by 

'  "  Bureaucratic  legislation  "  here  means  lawmaking  by  bureaus  in  the  execu- 
tive branch  of  the  government. 


OUR   NATIONAL   GOVERNMENT 


467 


the  fathers,  of  which  it  is  now  temporarily  deprived  by  bureaucratic  encroach- 
ment, now  is  the  time  to  start  upon  such  a  campaign  by  defeating  by  a  deci- 
sive majority  the  bill  now  offered  for  your  consideration.  .  .  .  Every  time 
you  weaken  Congress  by  the  establishment  of  a  bureau  in  which  the  authority 
of  Congress  is  lessened,  you  lay  one  more  stone  in  the  erection  of  the  temple 
of  autocracy.  .  .  .  These  bureaus  are  not  only  legislating  by  administra- 
tive processes  but  are  usurping  the  power  and  prerogatives  of  the  people's 
courts.  .  .  . 


A  Corker  in  One  Room  of  the  United  States  Census  Bureau 
Compiling  vital  statistics. 

It  is  the  business  of  the  people's  representatives  in  the  law- 
making branch  of  government  not  merely  to  make  laws,  but 
also   to  watch   and   control   the   executive.     The   The  duty  of 
great    English    philosopher,    John    Stuart    Mill  $a?SThV° 
(1806-1873),  thus  stated  the  purpose  of  the  Enghsh    executive 
House  of  Commons : 

To  watch  and  control  the  government ;  ^  to  throw  the  light  of  publicity 
on  its  acts ;  to  compel  a  full  explanation  and  justification  of  all  of  them  which 
any  one  considers  questionable;  to  censure  them  if  found  condemnable; 
to  be  at  once  the  nation's  committee  on  grievances ;  an  arena  in  which  not 
only  the  opinion  of  the  nation,  but  that  of  every  section  of  it,  and  as  far  as 

1  "Government"  here  refers  to  the  executive  branch. 


468  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

possible,  of  every  eminent  individual  that  it  contains,  can  produce  itself 
in  full  sight  and  challenge  full  discussion. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  English  House  of  Commons  has  a  way  to 
control  executive  leadership  without  destroying  it.  Even  if 
we  desired  to  do  so,  we  could  not  adopt  the  English  plan  without 
changing  our  Constitution.  But  there  are  ways  in  which  the 
same  result  could  in  a  measure  be  accomplished  without  such 
change.  One  of  these  is  by  a  well-organized  budget  system  (see 
p.  436). 

The  methods  of  making  appropriations  for  the  purposes  of 
our  national  government  have  been  as  unbusinesslike  as  in  the 
„  ......     states.     Charges  of  extravagance  and  inefi&ciency 

for  appropria-  have  been  made  freely,  the  blame  being  placed 
*^°"^  sometimes  upon  Congress  and  sometimes  upon  the 

executive  departments.  Both  are  at  fault ;  and  the  difficulty 
is  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  fix  the  responsibility  anywhere. 

Although  the  national  government,  unlike  the  states,  has  a 
single-headed  executive,  the  executive  departments  are  com- 
posed of  a  multitude  of  bureaus  and  other  subdi- 
Duplication  .  .  ,  ,  .,.,.,. 

and  confusion  Visions  that  are  not  well  organized  m  their  relations 

in  the  execu-     ^q  one  another.     There  is  overlapping,  duplication, 
and  even  conflict  of  work.     The  director  of  finance 
of  the  War  Department  said  that  in  the  recent  war. 

The  War  Department  entered  this  war  without  any  fixed  or  carefully  di- 
gested and  prepared  financial  system.  There  were  at  the  beginning  of  the 
war  five  .  .  .  bureaus  each  independent  of  the  others,  each  making  its 
own  contracts,  doing  its  own  purchasing,  doing  its  own  accounting,  with 
as  many  different  methods  as  there  were  bureaus.  As  a  result  they  were 
competing  with  each  other  in  a  market  where  the  supplies  in  many  cases 
for  which  they  were  competing  were  restricted  in  amount.  .  .  .  There  was 
no  central  authority  to  prune,  revise,  or  compare  estimates  submitted  and 
to  coordinate  expenditures,  and  that  naturally  resulted  in  overlappings  and 
duplications,  and  some  of  them  of  a  large  amount.^ 

1  Testimony  before  Budget  Committee,  quoted  by  Will  Payne,  "Your  Budget," 
Saturday  Evening  Post,  Jan.  3,  1920,  p.  32. 


OUR  NATIONAL   GOVERNMENT  469 

The  responsibility  is  partly  in  the  executive  department; 
but  it  is  also  partly  in  Congress,  for  it  creates  bureaus,  defines 
their  duties,  appropriates  money  for  them.  And  in  Congress 
the  responsibility  is  divided  among  various  committees. 

One  committee  or  subcommittee  has  supervision  of  building  the  barracks 
at  a  given  army  post  while  another  committee  or  subcommittee  has  super- 
vision of  building  the  hospital  at  the  same  post.  One  committee  has  juris- 
diction of  the  guns,  another  committee  has  jurisdiction  of  the  emplacement 
of  the  guns.  All  committees  are  jealous  of  their  own  prerogatives  and 
sometimes  more  or  less  jealous  of  other  committees.^ 

Each  year  the  executive  departments  submit  to  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  an  estimate  of  the  amount  of  money  they  think 
they  will  need.     The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
puts  these  estimates  together  without  revision  and  tions  made 
without  criticism  and  submits  them  to  Congress,   ^°^^  °^  ^^ss 
together  with  an  estimate  of  the  probable  revenues 
available.     While  there  is  a  committee  on  appropriations  in 
each  house  of  Congress, 

one  class  of  appropriations  after  another  has  been  taken  away  from  this 
committee  and  intrusted  to  other  committees  until,  as  a  result,  the  work  of 
preparing  appropriations  in  the  House  of  Representatives  is  broken  up  so 
that  there  are  now  no  less  than  fourteen  general  appropriation  bills  prepared 
by  seven  different  committees.  .  .  . 

In  the  preparation  of  their  bills  the  committee  on  appropriations  and 
the  other  committees  in  charge  of  appropriations  are  really  compelled  to 
work  more  or  less  bUndly.  Sometimes  they  hold  extensive  hearings  en- 
deavoring to  get  a  complete  grasp  of  the  multitudinous  detailed  expendi- 
tures for  which  they  must  provide.  But,  of  course,  it  is  impossible  for  the 
several  committees,  in  the  time  at  their  disposal,  to  give  even  minor  matters 
the  amount  of  attention  demanded  by  sound  public  economy.^ 

The  first  principles  of  a  budget,  according  to  students  of 
government,  are  that  it  should  be  prepared  by  the  executive 

1  Will  Payne,  "Your  Budget,"  Saturday  Evening  Post,  Jan.  3,  1920,  p.  166. 
*  C.  A.  Beard,  American  Government  and  Politics,  pp.  366,  367. 


470  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

branch  of  the  government,  which  is  responsible  for  spending  the 

money;    that  it  should  be  prepared  by  an  agency  responsible 

_,       .    .  J      directly  to  the  President,  and  with  authority  to  re- 

of  a  budget       vise  and  adjust  the  estimates  of  the  several  depart- 

system  ments  in  the  light  of  the  needs  and  resources  of 

the  government  as  a  whole ;   and  that  it  should  be  based  upon 

an  accounting  system  that  will  show  clearly  how  efficiently 

each  department  and  minor  subdivision  is  doing  its  work.     As 

this  chapter  is  being  written,  a  bill  is  before  Congress  which,  if 

passed,  will  more  or  less  completely  accomplish  these  results. 

It  remains  for  Congress,  however,  to  make  the  appropriations 

requested  in  the  budget,  with  such  modifications  as  may  be 

shown  to  be  wise.     It  is  generally  accepted  that 
The  need  for  .      .  i  •     i  i  i  i 

centralizing       appropriations  cannot  be  wisely  made  under  the 

appropria-  present  system,  and  that  responsibility  for  them 
must  be  centered  in  one  committee  in  each  house. 
This  change  will  necessitate  a  change  in  the  rules  which  can  only 
be  made  by  each  house  for  itself.  A  resolution  has  been  intro- 
duced in  the  House  of  Representatives  recommending  this 
change,  but  it  has  not  at  this  writing  been  acted  upon. 

In  the  English  House  of  Commons,  when  the  appropriation  bill  is  intro- 
duced, the  House  becomes  in  effect  a  court  before  which  the  prime  minister 
and  his  cabinet  are  placed  on  trial  to  defend  their  budget.  The  whole  House 
is  in  session.  The  minority  party,  which  conducts  the  opposition,  employs 
counsel,  and  by  its  searching  inquiries  compels  the  cabinet  to  explain  and 
defend  the  budget  at  every  point.  By  this  procedure  the  public  is  informed 
as  to  the  work  and  program  of  the  government,  and  the  executive  leaders 
held  strictly  to  account. 

A  budget  system,  however  good  it  may  be,  like  all  other 
governmental  machinery  is  merely  an  organization  for  team 
Responsibility  work,  and  will  do  very  little  good  unless  the  team 
of  the  citizen  work  is  forthcoming,  not  only  among  the  various 
branches  and  departments  of  government,  but  also  on  the  part 
of  the  citizens. 


OUR  NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT  471 

If  there  is  a  real  budget  it  has  got  to  be  your  budget.  It  will  be  good, 
bad  or  indifferent  finally  just  in  proportion  to  your  interest  in  it  and  your 
expression  of  that  interest  at  the  polls  and  elsewhere.  ...  If  there  is  a  good 
budget  system  —  not  on  paper,  but  in  actual  practice  —  you've  got  to  make 
it.  If,  when  a  budget  bill  is  finally  enacted  .  .  .  you  say,  "Well,  that  job 
is  done,"  and  dismiss  it  from  your  mind  there  will  be  no  lasting  gain.  .  .  } 

Effective  control  over  government  can  be  exercised  only  by 
public  opinion  and  public  interest.  We  may  have  any  kind  of 
government  we  want,  if  we  only  want  it  badly  enough,  and  only 


The  Bureau  of  Printing  and  Engraving 
Where  United  States  currency  and  postage  stamps  are  engraved. 

when  we  want  it  badly  enough.  The  blame  for  inefficiency 
and  wastefulness  on  the  part  of  government  at  Washington, 
or  at  the  state  capital,  or  at  the  county  seat,  rests  largely  with 
the  people  back  home,  who  are  either  selfish  or  blind  to  the  fact 
that  the  interests  of  the  nation  are  larger  than  their  own  or 
those  of  their  own  little  community.  The  very  people  who  talk 
most  loudly  about  the  extravagance  of  government,  or  about 
the  burden  of  taxes,  are  likely  to  be  the  ones  who  expect  most 
from  their  congressmen  for  purely  personal  or  local  advantage. 
They  are  likely  to  judge  their  representative's  fitness  for  his 

^  Will  Payne,  "Your  Budget,"  Saturday  Evening  Post,  January  3,  1920,  p.  30. 


472  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

position  more  by  his  ability  to  get  funds  from  the  public  treasury 
for  local  gratification  than  by  his  attitude  toward  great  national 
questions. 

Investigate  and  report  on  the  following : 

The  present  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  some  of  the 
more  important  members. 

Leaders  in  the  Senate  at  the  present  time. 

A  list  of  some  of  the  more  important  committees  in  each  House  of  Con- 
gress. 

The  procedure  by  which  a  bill  becomes  a  law,  from  the  time  when  it  is 
introduced  to  the  time  it  goes  into  effect  as  a  law  of  the  land. 

Bills  introduced  in  Congress  by  the  representative  from  your  district. 
The  purposes  of  these  bills.  (Consult  at  home,  at  your  public  library,  at 
your  newspaper  office.) 

Follow  the  course  of  debate  on  some  measure  in  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives or  the  Senate  in  the  files  of  the  Congressional  Record  (files  may  be  found 
at  your  public  library,  or  at  the  newspaper  offices,  if  not  in  your  school). 

Conflict  of  opinion  regarding  the  powers  of  the  President  and  of  the  Sen- 
ate in  connection  with  the  discussion  of  the  treaty  of  peace  with  Germany. 

"Filibustering"  in  Congress. 

Clause  2  of  section  6  of  Article  I  of  the  Constitution  says,  "No  person 
holding  any  office  under  the  United  States  shall  be  a  member  of  either  House 
during  his  continuance  in  office."     Why  is  this? 

The  privileges  of  members  of  Congress  under  clause  i  of  section  6  of 
Article  I  of  the  Constitution.     Reasons  for  these  privileges. 

"Log-rolling"  in  Congress,  what  it  is  and  why  so  called. 

The  details  of  the  budget  system  of  the  national  government  if  one  has 
been  created  by  the  time  you  study  this  chapter. 

Any  change  in  the  rules  of  Congress  relating  to  appropriations. 

The  desirabiUty  of  introducing  in  our  government  a  plan  similar  to  that 
used  by  the  House  of  Commons  and  described  on  page  470. 

The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  government  is  vested 
by  the  Constitution  "in  one  Supreme  Court,  and  in  such  inferior 
The  national  courts  as  the  Congress  may  from  time  to  time 
judiciary  ordain   and   establish"    (Art.    Ill,    sec.    i).     The 

number  of  judges  in   the   Supreme   Court  is  determined  by 
Congress,  and  they  are  appointed  by  the  President  with  the 


OUR  NATIONAL   GOVERNMENT  473 

advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate.  At  present  the  Supreme 
Court  consists  of  a  chief  justice  and  eight  associate  justices. 
Its  sessions  are  held  in  the  Capitol  building  at  Washington. 
Congress  has  created  circuit  courts  of  appeals,  of  which  there  are 
now  nine,  each  "circuit"  including  several  states;  and  district 
courts,  of  which  there  is  at  least  one  in  every  state,  and  some- 
times several.  In  addition  to  these  there  is  a  court  of  customs 
appeals  and  a  court  of  claims,  for  special  classes  of  cases.  The 
courts  of  the  District  of  Columbia  are  also  United  States  courts, 
inasmuch  as  the  District  is  governed  entirely  by  the  national 
government.  The  judges  of  all  United  States  courts  are  ap- 
pointed by  the  President  and  hold  office  for  life. 

The  powers  of  the  federal  courts  are  stated  in  Article  III,  sec- 
tion 2,  of  the  Constitution.  In  general,  they  have  jurisdiction 
over  cases  of  a  national  or  interstate  character.  Powers  of  the 
Most  cases  that  come  in  the  first  instance  before  the  federal  courts 
federal  courts  are  tried  in  the  United  States  district  courts, 
going  to  the  higher  courts  only  on  appeal ;  but  there  are  certain 
classes  of  cases  that  go  to  the  Supreme  Court  at  once  (Art.  Ill, 
sec.  2,  cl.  2).  A  case  brought  to  trial  before  a  state  court  may 
be  appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  when  the 
Constitution,  the  laws,  or  the  treaties  of  the  United  States 
are  involved,  and  its  decision  is  final.  The  Supreme  Court  may 
declare  a  law  passed  by  Congress  or  an  act  of  the  President 
null  and  void  if,  in  its  opinion,  such  law  or  act  is  contrary  to  the 
provisions  of  the  Constitution.  It  has  been  questioned  whether 
the  framers  of  the  Constitution  intended  the  Supreme  Court 
to  have  this  power,  but  it  exercises  the  power  on  the  ground  that 
the  Constitution  is  the  supreme  law  of  the  land  to  which  even 
Congress  and  the  President  are  subject,  and  that  it  is  the  sacred 
duty  of  the  courts  to  preserve  it  from  violation.  We  have 
noted  on  page  452  the  influence  exercised  by  the  Supreme  Court 
in  extending  the  activities  of  the  United  States  government  by 
its  broad  interpretations  of  the  Constitution. 


474  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

Study  the  powers  of  the  federal  courts  in  Article  III,  sections  i  and  2. 

What  is  treason?     (Art.  Ill,  sec.  3,  cl.  i.) 

What  is  meant  by  the  second  clause  in  section  3  of  Article  III  ? 

READINGS 

Guerrier,   Edith,   The  Federal  Executive   Departments,   Bulletin,    1919,   No.   74, 

U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education. 
Swanton,  W.  I.,  Guide  to  United  States  Government  Publications,  Bulletin,  1918, 

No.  2,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education. 
In  Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 

Series  A:  Lesson  12,  History  of  the  federal  departments. 

Lesson  1 8,  Local  and  national  governments. 
Series  B  :  Lesson  13,  The  Department  of  the  Interior. 

Lesson  14,  The  United  States  Public  Health  Ser\'ice. 
Lesson  21,  National  standards  and  the  Bureau  of  Standards. 
In  Foerster  and  Pierson's  American  Ideals: 

The  nature  of  the  Union  (Daniel  Webster),  pp.  17-26. 
The  nature  of  the  Union  (John  C.  Calhoun),  pp.  27-44. 
Jefferson's  First  Inaugural  Address,  pp.  59-64. 
The  frame  of  the  national  government  (Bryce),  pp.  285-300. 
Criticism  of  the  federal  system  (Bryce),  pp.  301-31 1. 
Merits  of  the  federal  system  (Bryce),  pp.  312-321. 
Cleveland,  F.  A.,  Four  Essentials  of  Democratic  Government,  III,  IV. 
Beard,  C.  A.,  American  Government  and  Politics,  Part  ii,  especially  chaps,  xi  and  xiv. 
Hart,  A.  B.,  Actual  Government,  Part  v,  The  National  Government  in  Action. 
Bryce,  James,  The  American  Commonwealth,  vol.  I,  Part  i. 
Wilson,  Woodrow,  Congressional  Government  (Houghton  MifHin  Co.). 
Haskin,  F.  J.,  The  American  Government  (Lippincott). 
Young,  The  New  Atnericati  Government  (Macmillan). 


APPENDIX 

THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

Preamble 

We,  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a  more  perfect 
union,  establish  justice,  insure  domestic  tranquillity,  provide  for  the  com- 
mon defence,  promote  the  general  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty 
to  ourselves  and  our  posterity,  do  ordain  and  establish  this  Constitution 
for  the  United  States  of  America. 

ARTICLE  I.     The  Legislative  Department 

Section  I.     Congress  in  General 

All  legislative  powers  herein  granted  shall  be  vested  in  a  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  which  shall  consist  of  a  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives. 

Section  II.     House  of  Representatives 

1st  Clause.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  composed  of  members 
chosen  every  second  year  by  the  people  of  the  several  States,  and  the  elec- 
tors in  each  State  shall  have  the  qualifications  requisite  for  electors  of  the 
most  numerous  branch  of  the  State  legislature. 

2d  Clause.  No  person  shall  be  a  representative  who  shall  not  have 
attained  to  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and  been  seven  years  a  citizen 
of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  ah  inhabitant  of 
that  State  in  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

Sd  Clause.  Representatives  and  direct  taxes  shall  be  apportioned  among 
the  several  States  which  may  be  included  within  this  Union,  according  to 
their  respective  numbers,  which  shall  be  determined  by  adding  to  the  whole 
number  of  free  persons,  including  those  bound  to  service  for  a  term  of  years, 
and,  excluding  Indians  not  taxed,  three-fifths  of  all  other  persons.  The 
actual  enumeration  shall  be  made  within  three  years  after  the  first  meeting 
of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  within  every  subsequent  term  of 
ten  years,  in  such  manner  as  they  shall  by  law  direct.    The  number  of  rep- 

475 


476  APPENDIX 

resentatives  shall  not  exceed  one  for  every  thirty  thousand,  but  each  State 
shall  have  at  least  one  representative;  and  until  such  enumeration  shall  be 
made,  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  shall  be  entitled  to  choose  three,  Massa- 
chusetts eight,  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations  one,  Connecticut 
five,  New  York  six.  New  Jersey  four,  Pennsylvania  eight,  Delaware  one, 
Maryland  six,  Virginia  ten,  North  Carolina  five.  South  Carolina  five,  and 
Georgia  three. 

4th  Clause.  When  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  from  any  State, 
the  executive  authority  thereof  shall  issue  writs  of  election  to  fill  such  vacan- 
cies. 

6th  Clause.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  their  Speaker  and 
other  officers;  and  shall  have  the  sole  power  of  impeachment. 

Section  III.     The  Senate. 

1st  Clause.  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be  composed  of  fwo 
senators  from  each  State,  shosen  by  the  legislature  thereof,  for  six  years; 
and  each  senator  shall  have  one  vote. 

M  Clause.  Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled  in  consequence  of 
the  first  election,  they  shall  be  divided  as  equally  as  may  be  into  three 
classes.  The  seats  of  the  senators  of  the  first  class  shall  be  vacated  at  the 
expiration  of  the  second  year,  of  the  second  class  at  the  expiration  of  the 
fourth  year,  and  of  the  third  class  at  the  expiration  of  the  sixth  year,  so 
that  one-third  may  be  chosen  every  second  year;  and  if  vacancies  happen 
by  resignation,  or  otherwise,  during  the  recess  of  the  legislature '  of  any 
State,  the  executive  thereof  may  make  temporary  appointments  until  the 
next  meeting  of  the  legislature,  which  shall  then  fill  such  vacancies. 

3d  Clause.  No  person  shall  be  a  senator  who  shall  not  have  attained  to 
the  age  of  thirty  years,  and  been  nine  years  a  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  that  State  for  which 
he  shall  be  chosen. 

4th  Clause.  The  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  shall  be  President 
of  the  Senate,  but  shall  have  no  vote,  unless  they  be  equally  divided. 

5th  Clause.  The  Senate  shall  choose  their  other  officers,  and  also  a  Presi- 
dent -pro  tempore,  in  the  absence  of  the  Vice-President,  or  when  he  shall 
exercise  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States. 

6th  Clause.  The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  power  to  try  all  impeachments. 
When  sitting  for  that  purpose,  they  shall  all  be  on  oath  or  affirmation. 
When  the  President  of  the  United  States  is  tried,  the  Chief  Justice  shall 
preside;  and  no  person  shall  be  convicted  without  the  concurrence  of  two- 
thirds  of  the  members  present. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES         477 

7th  Clause.  Judgment  in  cases  of  impeachment  shall  not  extend  further 
than  to  removal  from  office,  and  disqualification  to  hold  and  enjoy  any 
office  of  honor,  trust,  or  profit  under  the  United  States;  but  the  party  con- 
victed shall  nevertheless  be  liab  e  and  subject  to  indictment, trial,  judgment, 
and  punishment,  according  to  law. 

Section  IV.     Both  Houses. 

1st  Clause,  The  times,  places,  and  manner  of  holding  elections  for  sen- 
ators and  representatives,  shall  be  prescribed  in  each  State  by  the  legis- 
lature thereof ;  but  the  Congress  may  at  any  time  by  law  make  or  alter  such 
regulations,  except  as  to  the  places  of  choosing  senators. 

M  Clause.  The  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every  year,  and 
such  meeting  shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in  December,  unless  they  shall 
by  law  appoint  a  different  day. 

Section  V.     The  Houses  Separately. 

1st  Clause.  Each  house  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  elections,  returns,  and 
qualifications  of  its  own  members,  and  a  majority  of  each  shall  constitute 
a  quorum  to  do  business;  but  a  smaller  number  may  adjourn  from  day  to 
day,  and  may  be  authorized  to  compel  the  attendance  of  absent  members, 
in  such  manner  and  under  such  penalties  as  each  house  may  provide. 

Sd  Clause.  Each  house  may  determine  the  rules  of  its  proceedings,  punish 
its  members  for  disorderly  behavior,  and,  with  the  concurrence  of  two- 
thirds,  expel  a  member. 

Sd  Clause.  Each  house  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceedings,  and  from 
time  to  time  publish  the  same,  excepting  such  parts  as  may  in  their  judg- 
ment require  secrecy ;  and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the  members  of  either  house 
on  any  question  shall,  at  the  desire  of  one-fifth  of  those  present,  be  entered 
on  the  journal. 

4th  Clause.  Neither  house,  during  the  session  of  Congress,  shall,  without 
the  consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days,  nor  to  any  other 
place  than  that  in  which  the  two  houses  shall  be  sitting. 

Section  VI.     Privileges  and  Disabilities  of  Members. 

1st  Clause.  The  senators  and  representatives  shall  receive  a  compen- 
sation for  their  services,  to  be  ascertained  by  law,  and  paid  out  of  the  treas- 
ury of  the  United  States.  They  shall,  in  all  cases  except  treason,  felony 
and  breach  of  the  peace,  be  privileged  from  arrest  during  their  attendance 
at  the  session  of  their  respective  houses,  and  in  going  to  and  returning  from 


478  APPENDIX 

the  same;  and  for  any  speech  or  debate  in  either  house,  they  shall  not  be 
questioned  in  any  other  place. 

2d  Clause.  No  senator  or  representative  shall,  during  the  time  for  which 
he  was  elected,  be  appointed  to  any  civil  office  under  the  authority  of  the 
United  States,  which  shall  have  been  created,  or  the  emoluments  whereof 
shall  have  been  increased  during  such  time;  and  no  person  holding  any 
office  under  the  United  States  shall  be  a  member  of  either  house  during  his 
continuance  in  office. 

Section  VII.     Mode  of  passing  Laws. 

1st  Clause.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  originate  in  the  House  of 
Representatives;  but  the  Senate  may  propose  or  concur  with  amendments 
as  on  other  bills. 

2d  Clause.  Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives and  the  Senate  shall,  before  it  become  a  law,  be  presented  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States;  if  he  approve  he  shall  sign  it,  but  if  not  he 
shall  return  it,  with  his  objections,  to  that  house  in  which  it  shall  have 
originated,  who  shall  enter  the  objections  at  large  on  their  journal,  and 
proceed  to  reconsider  it.  If  after  such  reconsideration  two-thirds  of  that 
house  shall  agree  to  pass  the  bill,  it  shall  be  sent,  together  with  the  objec- 
tions, to  the  other  house,  by  which  it  shall  likewise  be  reconsidered,  and  if 
approved  by  two-thirds  of  that  house,  it  shall  become  a  law.  But  in  all 
such  cases  the  votes  of  both  houses  shall  be  determined  by  yeas  and  nays, 
and  the  names  of  the  persons  voting  for  and  against  the  bill  shall  be  entered 
on  the  journal  of  each  house  respectively.  If  any  bill  shall  not  be  returned 
by  the  President  within  ten  days  (Sundays  excepted)  after  it  shall  have 
been  presented  to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a  law,  in  like  manner  as  if  he  had 
signed  it,  unless  the  Congress  by  their  adjournment  prevent  its  return,  in 
which  case  it  shall  not  be  a  law. 

Sd  Clause.  Every  order,  resolution,  or  vote  to  which  the  concurrence 
of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  may  be  necessary  (except  on  a 
question  of  adjournment)  shall  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States;  and  before  the  same  shall  take  effect,  shall  be  approved  by  him,  or 
being  disapproved  by  him,  shall  be  repassed  by  two-thirds  of  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives,  according  to  the  rules  and  limitations  pre- 
Bcribed  in  the  case  of  a  bill. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES       479 

Section  VIII.     Powers  granted  to  Congress. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power — 

1st  Clause.  To  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  excises,  to 
pay  the  debts,  and  provide  for  the  common  defence  and  general  welfare  of 
the  United  States;  but  all  duties,  imposts,  and  excises  shall  be  uniform 
throughout  the  United  States; 

Sd  Clause.  To  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States; 

Sd  Clause.  To  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and  among  the 
several  States,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes; 

4th  Clause.  To  establish  a  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  and  uniform 
laws  on  the  subject  of  bankruptcies  throughout  the  United  States; 

Sth  Clause.  To  coin  money,  regulate  the  value  thereof,  and  of  foreign 
coin,  and  fix  the  standard  of  weights  and  measures; 

6th  Clause.  To  provide  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting  the  securities 
and  current  coin  of  the  United  States; 

7th  Clause.  To  establish  post-offices  and  post- roads; 

Sth  Clause.  To  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts,  by  secur- 
ing for  limited  times  to  authors  and  inventors  the  exclusive  right  to  their 
respective  writings  and  discoveries; 

9th  Clause.  To  constitute  tribunals  inferior  to  the  Supreme  Court ; 

10th  Clause.  To  define  and  punish  piracies  and  felonies  committed  on  the 
high  seas,  and  offences  against  the  law  of  nations; 

11th  Clause.  To  declare  war,  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  and 
make  rules  concerning  captures  on  land  and  water; 

l^th  Clause.  To  raise  and  support  armies ;  but  no  appropriation  of  money 
to  that  use  shall  be  for  a  longer  term  than  two  years; 

13th  Clause.  To  provide  and  maintain  a  navy; 

14th  Clause.  To  make  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of  the 
land  and  naval  forces ; 

16th  Clause.  To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  militia  to  execute  the  laws 
of  the  Union,  suppress  insurrections,  and  repel  invasions; 

16th  Clause.  To  provide  for  organizing,  arming,  and  disciplining  the 
militia,  and  for  governing  such  part  of  them  as  may  be  employed  in  the 
service  of  the  United  States,  reserving  to  the  States  respectively  the 
appointment  of  the  officers,  and  the  authority  of  training  the  militia  accord- 
ing to  the  discipline  prescribed  by  Congress; 

17th  Clause.  To  exercise  exclusive  legislation  in  all  cases  whatsoever, 
over  such  district  (not  exceeding  ten  miles  square)  as  may,  by  cession  of 
particular  States,  and  the  acceptance  of  Congress,  become  the  seat  of  the 
Government  of  the  United  States;  and  to  exercise  like  authority  over  all 


480  APPENDIX 

places  purchased  by  the  consent  of  the  legislature  of  the  State  in  which  the 
same  shall  be,  for  the  erection  of  forts,  magazines,  arsenals,  dock-yards, 
and  other  needful  buildings ; — and 

18th  Clause.  To  make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for 
carrying  into  execution  the  foregoing  powers,  and  all  other  powers  vested 
by  this  Constitution  in  the  government  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any 
department  or  officer  thereof. 

\y^  Section  IX.     Powers  denied  to  the  United  States. 

1st  Clause.  The  migration  or  importation  of  such  persons  as  any  of  the 
States  now  existing  shall  think  proper  to  admit,  shall  not  be  prohibited  by 
the  Congress  prior  to  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight,  but  a 
tax  or  duty  may  be  imposed  on  such  importation,  not  exceeding  ten  dollars 
for  each  person. 

M  Clause.  The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  not  be  sus- 
pended, unless  when  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion  the  public  safety  may 
require  it. 

Sd  Clause.  No  bill  of  attainder  or  ex  post  facto  law  shall  be  passed. 

4th  Clause.  No  capitation,  or  other  direct  tax  shall  be  laid,  unless  in  pro- 
portion to  the  census  or  enumeration  hereinbefore  directed  to  be  taken. 

5th  Clause.  No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on  articles  exported  from  any 

State. 

6ih  Clause.  No  preference  shall  be  given  by  any  regulation  of  commerce 
or  revenue  to  the  ports  of  one  State  over  those  of  another;  nor  shall  vessels 
bound  to,  or  from,  one  State,  be  obliged  to  enter,  clear,  or  pay  duties  in 
another. 

7th  Clause.  No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury,  but  in  conse- 
quence of  appropriations  made  by  law;  and  a  regular  statement  and  account 
of  the  receipts  and  expenditures  of  all  public  money  shall  be  published  from 
time  to  time. 

8th  Clause.  No  title  of  nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United  States; 
and  no  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  them  shall,  with- 
out the  consent  of  Congress,  accept  of  any  present,  emolument,  office,  or 
title,  of  any  kind  whatever,  from  any  king,  prince,  or  foreign  State. 

Section  X.     Powers  denied  to  the  States. 

1st  Clause.  -No  State  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance,  or  confedera- 
tion; grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal;  coin  money;  emit  bills  of  credit; 
make  anything  but  gold  and  silver  coin  a  tender  in  payment  of  debts;  pass 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES       481 

any  bill  of  attainder,  ex  post  facto  law,  or  law  impairing  the  obligation  of  con- 
tracts, or  grant  any  title  of  nobility. 

2d  Clause.  No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  lay  any 
imposts  or  duties  on  imports  or  exports,  except  what  may  be  absolutely 
necessary  for  executing  its  inspection  laws;  and  the  net  produce  of  all  duties 
and  imposts,  laid  by  any  State  on  imports  or  exports,  shall  be  for  the  use 
of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States;  and  all  such  laws  shall  be  subject  to  the 
revision  and  control  of  the  Congress. 

3d  Clause.  No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  lay  any  duty 
of  tonnage,  keep  troops,  or  ships  of  war  in  time  of  peace,  enter  into  any 
agreement  or  compact  with  another  State  or  with  a  foreign  power,  or  engage 
in  war,  unless  actually  invaded,  or  in  such  imminent  danger  as  will  not 
admit  of  delay. 

ARTTCLE  II.    The  Executive  Department. 

Section  I.     President  and  Vice-President. 

1st  Clause.  The  executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  a  President  of  the 
United  States  of  America.  He  shall  hold  his  office  during  the  term  of  four 
years,  and,  together  with  the  Vice-President,  chosen  for  the  same  term,  be 
elected  as  follows: 

£d  Clause.  Each  State  shall  appoint,  in  such  manner  as  the  legislature 
thereof  may  direct,  a  number  of  electors,  equal  to  the  whole  number  of  sen- 
ators and  representatives  to  which  the  State  may  be  entitled  in  the  Congress. 
But  no  senator  or  representative,  or  person  holding  an  office  of  trust  or 
profit  under  the  United  States,  shall  be  appointed  an  elector. 

[The  3d  clause  has  been  superseded  by  the  12th  article  of  Amendments. 
See  page  xix.] 

4th  Clause.  The  Congress  may  determine  the  time  of  choosing  the  elec- 
tors, and  the  day  on  which  they  shall  give  their  votes,  which  day  shall  be 
the  same  throughout  the  United  States. 

5th  Clause.  No  person  except  a  natural-born  citizen,  or  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall  be 
eligible  to  the  office  of  President;  neither  shall  any  person  be  eligible  to 
that  office  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the  age  of  thirty-five  years,  and 
been  fourteen  years  a  resident  within  the  United  States. 

6th  Clause.  In  case  of  the  removal  of  the  President  from  office,  or  of  his 
death,  resignation,  or  inability  to  discharge  the  powers  and  duties  of  the 
Baid  office,  the  same  shall  devolve  on  the  Vice-President;  and  the  Congress 
may  by  law  provide  for  the  case  of  removal,  death,  resignation,  or  inability, 


482  APPENDIX 

both  of  the  President  and  Vice-President,  declaring  what  officer  shall  then 
act  as  President,  and  such  officer  shall  act  accordingly,  until  the  disability 
be  removed,  or  a  President  shall  be  elected. 

7th  Clause.  The  President  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his  services 
a  compensation,  which  shall  neither  be  increased  nor  diminished  during  the 
period  for  which  he  shall  have  been  elected,  and  he  shall  not  receive  within 
that  period  any  other  emolument  from  the  United  States,  or  any  of  them. 

8th  Clause.  Before  he  enter  on  the  execution  of  his  office,  he  shall  take 
the  following  oath  or  affirmation: — 

"  I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully  execute  the  office 
of  President  of  the  United  States,  and  will,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  pre- 
serve, protect,  and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States." 

Section  II.     Powers  of  the  Pres^ldent. 

1st  Clause.  The  President  shall  be  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  and 
navy  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  militia  of  the  several  States,  when 
called  into  the  actual  service  of  the  United  States;  he  may  require  the  opin- 
ion, in  writing,  of  the  principal  officer  in  each  of  the  executive  departments, 
upon  any  subject  relating  to  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices,  and  he 
shall  have  power  to  grant  reprieves  and  pardons  for  offences  against  the 
United  States,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment. 

Sd  Clause.  He  shall  have  power,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of 
the  Senate,  to  make  treaties,  provided  two-thirds  of  the  senators  present 
concur;  and  he  shall  nominate,  and  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of 
the  Senate,  shall  appoint,  ambassadors,  other  public  ministers  and  con- 
suls, judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  all  other  officers  of  the  United  States, 
whose  appointments  are  not  herein  otherwise  provided  for,  and  which  shall 
be  established  by  law;  but  the  Congress  may  by  law  vest  the  appointment 
of  such  inferior  officers,  as  they  think  proper,  in  the  President  alone,  in  the 
courts  of  law,  or  in  the  heads  of  departments. 

Sd  Clause.  The  President  shall  have  power  to  fill  up  all  vacancies  that 
may  happen  during  the  recess  of  the  Senate,  by  granting  commissions, 
which  shall  expire  at  the  end  of  their  next  session. 

Section  III.     Duties  of  the  President. 

He  shall  from  time  to  time  give  to  the  Congress  information  of  the  state 
of  the  Union,  and  recommend  to  their  consideration  such  measures  as  he 
shall  judge  necessary  and  expedient;  he  may,  on  extraordinary  occasions 
convene  both  houses  or  either  of  them,  and  in  case  of  disagreement  be- 
tween them  with  respect  to  the  time  of  adjournment,  he  may  adjourn  them 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES      483 

to  such  time  as  he  shall  think  proper ;  he  shall  receive  ambassadors  and  other 
public  ministers;  he  shall  take  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed,  and 
shall  commission  all  the  officers  of  the  United  States. 

Section  IV.     Impeachment  of  the  President. 

The  President,  Vice-President,  and  all  civil  officers  of  the  United  States, 
shall  be  removed  from  office  on  impeachment  for,  and  convietion  of,  treason, 
bribery,  or  other  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE  III.    The  Judicial  Department. 

Section  I.     The  United  States  Courts. 

The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  be  vested  in  one  Supreme 
Court,  and  in  such  inferior  courts  as  the  Congress  may  from  time  to  time 
ordain  and  estabUsh.  The  judges,  both  of  the  Supreme  and  inferior  courts, 
shall  hold  their  offices  during  good  behavior,  and  shall,  at  stated  times, 
receive  for  their  services  a  compensation,  which  shall  not  be  diminished 
during  their  continuance  in  office. 

Section  II.     Jurisdiction  of  the  United  Slates  Courts. 

1st  Clause.  The  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases,  in  law  and  equity 
arising  under  this  Constitution,  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  treaties 
made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  under  their  authority ;  to  all  cases  affecting 
ambassadors,  other  public  ministers,  and  consuls;  to  all  cases  of  admiralty 
and  maritime  jurisdiction;  to  controversies  to  which  the  United  States  shall 
be  a  party ;  to  controversies  between  two  or  more  States ;  between  a  State 
and  citizens  of  another  State;  between  citizens  of  different  States;  between 
citizens  of  the  same  State  cfaTiming  lands  under  grants  of  different  States, 
and  between  a  State,  or  the  citizens  thereof,  and  foreign  states,  citizens,  or 
subjects. 

Sd  Clause.  In  all  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  other  public  ministers  and 
consuls,  and  those  in  which  a  State  shall  be  a  party,  the  Supreme  Court 
shall  have  original  jurisdiction.  In  all  the  other  cases  before  mentioned, 
the  Supreme  Court  shall  have  appellate  jurisdiction,  both  as  to  law  and  fact, 
with  such  exceptions  and  under  such  regulations  as  the  Congress  shall  make. 

3d  Clause.  The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment,  shall 
be  by  jury;  and  such  trial  shall  be  held  in  the  State  where  the  said  crimes 
shall  have  been  committed;  but  when  not  committed  within  any  State, 
the  trial  shall  be  at  such  place  or  places  as  the  Congress  may  by  law  have 
directed. 


484  APPENDIX 

Section  III.     Treason. 

1st  Clause.  Treason  against  the  United  States  shall  consist  only  in  levying 
war  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their  enemies,  giving  them  aid  and  com- 
fort. No  person  shall  be  convicted  of  treason  unless  on  the  testimony  of 
two  witnesses  to  the  same  overt  act,  or  on  confession  in  open  court. 

2d  Clause.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  declare  the  punishment  of 
treason,  but  no  attainder  of  treason  shall  work  corruption  of  blood,  or  for- 
feiture except  during  the  life  of  the  person  attainted. 

ARTICLE  IV.     Miscellaneous  Provisions. 

Section  I.     State  Records. 

Full  faith  and  ^redit  shall  be  given  in  each  State  to  the  public  acts, 
records,  and  judicial  ^  roceedings  of  every  other  State.  And  the  Congress 
may  by  general  laws  prescribe  the  manner  in  which  such  acts,  records,  and 
proceedings  shall  be  proved,  and  the  effect  thereof. 

Section  II.     Privileges  of  Citizens. 

1st  Clause.  The  citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to  all  privileges 
and  immunities  of  citizens  in  the  several  States. 

M  Clause.  A  person  charged  in  any  State  with  treason,  felony,  or  other 
crime,  who  shall  flee  from  justice,  and  be  found  in  another  State,  shall,  on 
demand  of  the  executive  authority  of  the  State  from  which  he  fled,  be 
delivered  up,  to  be  removed  to  the  State  having  jurisdiction  of  the  crime. 

3d  Clause.  No  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  State,  under  the 
laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  consequence  of  any  law  or 
regulation  therein,  be  discharged  from  such  service  or  labor,  but  shall  be 
delivered  up  on  claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such  service  or  labor  may  be  due. 

Section  III.     New  States  and  Territories. 

1st  Clause.  New  States  may  be  admitted  by  the  Congress  into  this  Union ; 
but  no  new  State  shall  be  formed  or  erected  within  the  jurisdiction  of  any 
other  State ;  nor  any  State  be  formed  by  the  junction  of  two  or  more  States 
or  parts  of  States,  without  the  consent  of  the  legislatures  of  the  States 
concerned  as  well  as  of  the  Congress. 

M  Clause.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and  make  all 
needful  rules  and  regulations  respecting  the  territory  or  other  property 
belonging  to  the  United  States;  and  nothing  in  this  Constitution  shall  be 
no  construed  as  to  prejudice  any  claims  of  the  United  States  or  of  any  partiCJ- 
ular  State. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES       485 

Section  IV.     Guarantees  to  the  States. 

The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in  this  Union  a  repub- 
lican form  of  government,  and  shall  protect  each  of  them  against  invasion; 
and  on  application  of  the  legislature,  or  of  the  executive  (when  the  legis- 
lature cannot  be  convened),  against  domestic  violence. 

ARTICLE  V.    Powers  of  Amendment. 

The  Congress,  whenever  two-thirds  of  both  houses  shall  deem  it  necessary, 
chall  propose  amendments  to  this  Constitution,  or,  on  the  application  of 
the  legislatures  of  two-thirds  of  the  several  States,  shall  call  a  convention 
for  proposing  amendments,  which,  in  either  case,  shall  be  valid,  to  all  intents 
and  purposes,  as  part  of  this  Constitution,  when  ratified  by  the  legislatures 
of  three-fourths  of  the  several  States,  or  by  conventions  in  three-fourths 
thereof,  as  the  one  or  the  other  mode  of  ratification  may  be  proposed  by  the 
Congress:  provided  that  no  amendment  which  may  be  made  prior  to  the 
year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight  shall  in  any  manner  affect  the 
first  and  fourth  clauses  in  the  ninth  section  of  the  first  article;  and  that  no 
State,  without  its  consent,  shall  be  deprived  of  its  equal  suffrage  in  the 
Senate. 

ARTICLE  VI.     Public  Debt,  Supremacy  of  the  Constitution,  Oath 
OF  Office,  Religious  Test. 

1st  Clause.  All  debts  contracted  and  engagements  entered  into  before  the 
adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  as  valid  against  the  United  States 
under  this  Constitution,  as  under  the  Confederation. 

M  Clause.  This  Constitution,  and  the  laws  of  the  United  States  which 
shall  be  made  in  pursuance  thereof,  and  all  treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be 
made,  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  the  supreme  law 
of  the  land;  and  the  judges  in  every  State  shall  be  bound  thereby,  anything 
in  the  Constitution  or  laws  of  any  State  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

Sd  Clause.  The  senators  and  representatives  before  mentioned,  and  the 
members  of  the  several  State  legislatures,  and  all  executive  and  judicial 
officers,  both  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  several  States,  shall  be  bound 
by  oath  or  affirmation  to  support  this  Constitution;  but  no  religious  test 
shall  ever  be  required  as  a  qualification  to  any  office  or  public  trust  under 
the  United  States. 


486  APPENDIX 

ARTICLE  VII.     Ratification  of  the  CoNSTrrunoN. 

The  ratification  of  the  conventions  of  nine  States  shall  be  sufficient  for 
the  estabhshment  of  this  Constitution  between  tne  States  so  ratifying  the 
same. 

AMENDMENTS 

i'ROPOSED  BY  CONGRESS  AND  RATIFIED  BY  THE  LEGISLATURES  OF  THE  SEVERAL 
states,  pursuant  to  the  FIFTH  ARTICLE  OF  THE  ORIGINAL  CONSTITUTION. 

Article  I.     Freedom  of  Religion. 

Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of  religion,  at 
prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof;  or  abridging  the  freedom  of  speech  or 
o "  the  press ;  or  the  right  of  the  people  peaceably  to  assemble,  and  to  petition 
the  government  for  a  redress  of  grievances. 

Article  II.     Right  to  hear  Arms. 

A  well-regulated  militia  being  necessary  to  the  security  of  a  free  state, 
the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  arms  shall  not  be  infringed. 

Article  III.     Qimrtering  Soldiers  on  Citizens. 
No  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be  quartered  in  any  house  without  the 
consent  of  the  owner,  nor  in  time  of  war  but  in  a  manner  to  be  prescribed 
by  law. 

Article  IV.     Search  Warrants. 

The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons,  houses,  papers, 
and  effects,  against  unreasonable  searches  and  seizures,  shall  not  be  vio- 
lated, and  no  warrants  shall  issue  but  upon  probable  cause,  supported  by 
oath  or  affirmation,  and  particularly  describing  the  place  to  be  searched, 
and  the  persons  or  things  to  be  seized. 

Article  V.     Trial  for  Crime. 

No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital,  or  otherwise  infamous 
crime,  unless  on  a  presentment  or  indictment  of  a  grand  jury,  except  in  cases 
arising  in  the  land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the  militia,  when  in  actual  service 
in  time  of  war  or  public  danger;  nor  shall  any  person  be  subject  for  the 
same  offence  to  be  twice  put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or  limb;  nor  shall  be  com- 
pelled in  any  criminal  case  to  be  a  witness  against  himself,  nor  be  deprived 
of  life,  liberty,  or  property  without  due  process  of  law;  nor  shall  private 
property  be  taken  for  public  use  without  just  compensation. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES      487 

Article  VI.     Rights  of  Accused  Persons. 

In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  shall  enjoy  the  right  to  a  speedy 
and  public  trial  by  an  impartial  jury  of  the  State  and  district  wherein  the 
crime  shall  have  been  committed,  which  district  shall  have  been  previously 
ascertained  by  lav/,  and  to  be  informed  of  the  nature  and  cause  of  the  aucc- 
sation;  to  be  confronted  with  the  witnesses  against  him;  to  have  compul- 
sory process  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor,  and  to  have  the  assistance 
of  counsel  for  his  defence. 

Article  VII.     Suits  at  Common  Law. 

In  suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in  controversy  shall  exceed 
twenty  dollars,  the  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  preserved,  and  no  fact 
tried  by  a  jury  shall  be  otherwise  re-examined  in  any  court  of  the  United 
States  than  according  to  the  rules  of  the  common  law. 

Article  VIII.     Excessive  Bail. 

Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive  fines  imposed,  nor 
eruel  and  unusual  punishments  inflicted. 

Article  IX.     Rights  Retained  by  the  People. 

The  enumeration  in  the  Constitution  of  certain  rights  shall  not  be  con- 
strued to  deny  or  disparage  others  retained  by  the  people. 

Article  X.     Reserved  Rights  of  the  States. 

The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the  Constitution,  nor 
proliibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are  reserved  to  the  States  respectively,  or  to 
the  people. 

Article  XI. 

The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be  construed  to  extend 
to  any  suit,  in  law  or  equity,  commenced  or  prosecuted  against  one  of  the 
United  States  by  citizens  of  another  State,  or  by  citizens  or  subjects  of 
any  foreign  state. 

Article  XII. 

1st  Clause.  The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States,  and  vote 
by  ballot  for  President  and  Vice-President,  one  of  whom,  at  least,  shall  not 
be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  State  with  themselves;  they  shall  name  in  their 
ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  President,  and  in  distinct  ballots  the  person 
voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and  they  shall  naake  distinct  lists  of  all  persons 


488  APPENDIX 

voted  for  as  President,  and  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and 
of  the  number  of  votes  for  each,  which  lists  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and 
transmit  sealed  to  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  directed 
to  the  President  of  the  Senate;  the  President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  presence 
of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all  the  certificates,  and 
the  votes  shall  then  be  counted ;  the  person  having  the  greatest  number  of 
votes  for  President  shall  be  the  President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of 
the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed ;  and  if  no  person  have  such  major- 
ity, then  from  the  persons  having  the  highest  numbers,  not  exceeding  three 
on  the  list  of  those  voted  for  as  President,  the  House  of  Representatives 
shall  choose  immediately,  by  ballot,  the  President.  But  in  choosing  the 
President,  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  States,  the  representation  from  each 
State  having  one  vote ;  a  quorum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member 
or  members  from  two-thirds  of  the  States,  and  a  majority  of  all  the  States 
shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  And  if  the  House  of  Representatives  shall 
not  choose  a  President  whenever  the  right  of  choice  shall  devolve  upon 
them,  before  the  fourth  day  of  March  next  following,  then  the  Vice-Presi- 
dent shall  act  as  President,  as  in  the  case  of  the  death  or  other  consti- 
tutional disability  of  the  President. 

2d  Clause.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  as  Vice- 
President  shall  be  the  Vice-President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the 
whole  number  of  electors  appointed ;  and  if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then 
from  the  two  highest  numbers  on  the  list  the  Senate  shall  choose  the  Vice- 
President  ;  a  quorum  for  the  purpose  shall  consist  of  two-thirds  of  the  whole 
number  of  senators,  and  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  shall  be  necessary 
to  a  choice. 

3d  Clause.  But  no  person  constitutionally  ineligible  to  the  office  of  Presi- 
dent shall  be  eligible  to  that  of  Vice-President  of  the  United  States. 

Article  XIII. 

Section  I.  Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  except  as  a  punish- 
ment for  crime,  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted,  shall 
exist  within  the  United  States,  or  any  place  subject  to  their  jurisdiction. 

Sec.  II.  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by  appropriate 
legislation. 

Article  XIV. 

Section  I.  All  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United  States,  and 
subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  are  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  of 
the  State  wherein  they  reside.  No  State  shall  make  or  enforce  any  law 
which  shall  abridge  the  privileges  or  immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES       489 

States;  nor  shall  any  State  deprive  any  person  of  life,  liberty,  or  property, 
without  due  process  of  law,  nor  deny  any  person  within  its  jurisdiction  the 
equal  protection  of  the  laws. 

Sec.  II.  Representatives  shall  be  apportioned  among  the  several  States 
according  to  their  respective  numbers,  counting  the  whole  number  of  per- 
sons in  each  State,  excluding  Indians  not  taxed.  But  when  the  right  to 
vote  at  any  election  for  the  choice  of  electors  for  President  and  Vice-Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  representatives  in  Congress,  the  executive  and 
judicial  officers  of  a  State,  or  the  members  of  the  legislature  thereof,  is 
denied  to  any  of  the  male  inhabitants  of  such  State,  being  twenty-one 
years  of  age,  and  citizens  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  way  abridged, 
except  for  participation  in  rebellion  or  other  crime,  the  basis  of  representa- 
tion therein  shall  be  reduced  in  the  proportion  which  the  number  of  such 
male  citizens  shall  bear  to  the  whole  number  of  male  citizens  twenty-one 
years  of  age  in  such  State. 

Sec.  III.  No  person  shall  be  a  senator  or  representative  in  Congress,  or 
elector  of  President  and  Vice-President,  or  hold  any  office,  civil  or  military, 
under  the  United  States,  or  under  any  State,  who,  having  previously  taken 
an  oath,  as  a  member  of  Congress,  or  as  an  officer  of  the  United  States,  or 
as  a  member  of  any  State  legislature,  or  as  an  executive  or  judicial  officer 
of  any  State,  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  shall  have 
engaged  in  insurrection  or  rebellion  against  the  same,  or  given  aid  or  com- 
fort to  the  enemies  thereof.  But  Congress  maji,  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds 
of  each  house,  remove  such  disability. 

Sec.  IV.  The  validity  of  the  public  debt  of  the  United  States,  author- 
ized by  law,  including  debts  incurred  for  payment  of  pensions  and  bounties 
for  services  in  suppressing  insurrection  or  rebellion,  shall  not  be  questioned. 
But  neither  the  United  States  nor  any  State  shall  assume  or  pay  any  debt 
or  obligation  incurred  in  aid  of  insurrection  or  rebellion  against  the  United 
States,  or  any  claim  for  the  loss  or  emancipation  of  any  slave;  but  all  such 
debts,  obligations,  and  claims  shall  be  held  illegal  and  void. 

Sec.  V.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce,  by  appropriate  legis- 
lation, the  provisions  of  this  article. 

Article  XV. 

.  Section  I.  The  right  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote  shall  not 
be  denied  or  abridged  by  the  United  States,  or  by  any  State,  on  account  of 
race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude. 

Sec,  II.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by  appro 
piiate  legislation. 


490  APPENDIX 

Article   XVI. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  lay  and  collect  taxes  on  incomes, 
from  whatever  source  derived,  without  apportionment  among  the  several 
States,  and  without  regard  to  any  census  or  enumeration. 

Article   XVII. 

Section  I.  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be  composed  of  two 
Senators  from  each  State,  elected  by  the  people  thereof,  for  six  years; 
and  each  Senator  shall  have  one  vote.  The  electors  in  each  State  shall 
have  the  quahfications  requisite  for  electors  of  the  most  numerous  branch 
of  the  State  Legislatures. 

Sec.  II.  When  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  of  any  State 
in  the  Senate,  the  executive  authority  of  such  State  shall  issue  writs  of 
election  to  fill  such  vacancies :  Provided  that  the  Legislature  of  any  State 
may  empower  the  executive  thereof  to  make  temporary  appointments 
until  the  people  fill  the  vacancies  by  election  as  the  Legislature  may  direct. 

Sec.  III.  This  amendment  shall  not  be  so  construed  as  to  affect  the 
election  or  term  of  any  Senator  chosen  before  it  becomes  valid  as  part  of 
the  Constitution. 

Article   XVIII. 

Section  I.  After  one  year  from  the  ratification  of  this  article,  the 
manufacture,  sale,  or  transportation  of  intoxicating  liquors  within,  the 
importation  thereof  into,  or  the  exportation  thereof  from,  the  United 
States  and  all  territory  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  for  beverage 
purposes,  is  hereby  prohibited. 

Sec.  II.  The  Congress  and  the  several  States  shall  have  concurrent 
power  to  enforce  this  article  by  appropriate  legislation. 

Sec.  III.  This  article  shall  be  inoperative  unless  it  shall  have  been 
ratified  as  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution  by  the  legislatures  of  the 
several  States,  as  provided  in  the  Constitution,  within  seven  years  from 
the  date  of  the  submission  thereof  to  the  States  by  the  Congress. 


INDEX 


Abstract  of  title,  194 

Accidents,  274;   industrial,  356,  357 

Accounts,  152, 174,  176,367;  county, 
409,  414,  415;  state,  435 

Administration,  387 

Administrative  departments,  436, 
454-457;   offices,  423-427 

Advertisements,  276 

Esthetic  wants,  340-345 

Africa,  153 

Africans,  273 

Agent,  county,  31,  32 

Agricultural  college,  34,  63,  143,  401 ; 
production  of  U.  S.,  210,  211 

Agriculture,  18,  76,  141-164;  a 
national  enterprise,  146;  of  the 
Indians,  191;  secretary  of,  211, 
264;  state  departments  of,  142- 
144;  U.  S.  Department  of,  24,  31, 
34,  144,  146-164,  177,  179,  213, 
221,  231,  233,  248,  257,  263,  316, 
322,  456 

Agriculturist,  191 

Air,  pure,  12,  316,  317  . 

Airplanes,  21,  74,  87,  282;  mail 
service,  281,  282,  283 

Alabama,  108,  319 

Alaska,  196,  ig8,  275,  276,  383 

Aleutian  Islands,  154 

AUeghenies,  191,  194,  197 

Allegiance,  pledge  of,  54,  55 

Alliances,  92 ;   entangling,  87 

Almshouse,  352,  353,  360 

Alphabet,  origin  of,  272 

Amendments,  10,  244,  245,  419,  444, 
447;   Fifteenth,  381 ;  suffrage,  381 

America  First,  95 


American  Peace  Society,  91 ;    Peace 

and  Arbitration  League,  91 
Amusements,  337 
Anarchism,  378 
Anarchists,  387 
Anderson,  Ruth,  108,  109 
Animal    Industry,   Bureau    of,    152, 

322 
Anti-trust  law,  267 
Appeals,  court  of,  440 
Appearances,  importance  of,  342 
Appointments,  457,  458,  464 
Appropriations,   146,   147,  366,  435, 

436,  468-472 
Arabia,  153 

Arbitration,  91,  92 ;   court  of,  92 
Argentine  Republic,  17 
Arizona,  213,  214,  441 
Arlington,  Va.,  153 
Army,  68,   70,   73,  80,   245 ;    health 

in,   310;    illiteracy  in,    273,   274; 

post,  207 
Art,  341 

Articles  of  Confederation,  443,  444 
Asia,  87,  90 
Assessment,  366,  368 
Assessors,  tax,  368,  369 
Association  with  others,  3 
Associations  for  cooperation,  28 
Asylums,  353 

Athletic  associations,  339;   team,  2 
Attorney-General,  423 
Attractiveness,    114.     (See    Beauty; 

Beautiful  surroundings) 
Auditor,  407,  410,  423 
Australia,  194 
Austria-Hungary,  210 


491 


492 


INDEX 


Autocratic  government,  49,  88,  89 
Autocracy,  378,  387 

Bail,  359 

Ballot,  long,  408 ;  secret,  390 ;  short, 

388,  389 
Bank  account,  5;   federal  land,  183; 

national,  451;    savings,  183,   185, 

186;   school,  177,  186 
Banking,  158 
Barn  raisings,  24 
Beautiful  surroundings,  102,  169 
Beauty,  want  for,  4,  256,  340-345 
Beggars,  353 
Belgian  relief,  82 
Belgium,  171,  210,  211 
Berkeley,  Governor,  286 
Bethlehem  steel  works,  79 
Bill,  legislative,  427,  431,  432,  435, 

436,  46s,  466 
Bill  boards,  344 

Biological  Survey,  Bureau  of,  154 
Birds,  protection  of,  154 
Bolshevism,  378 

Bonds,  166,  187,  250,  263,  374,  380 
Books,  34,  35 
Boroughs,  416 
Borrowing,  181-184 
Boss,  political,   387,   388,   390,   408, 

409,  424,  425,  432,  466;   rule,  388, 

390 
Boston,  279 
Boundaries,  208 
Boys'   clubs,   33 ;    working   reserve, 

160,  161 
Bridges,  405 
British  Isles,  210 
Budget,     174,     176,     367;      budget 

system,  state,  436;   national,  468- 

471 
Building  and  loan  associations,  187 
Buildings,  public,  114 
Burbank,  Luther,  68 
Bureaucratic  government,  466,  467 
Business,    128;     methods,    151;    of 


home     management,     125;      the 

nation's,  184 
Butte  County,  Cal.,  201 
By-laws,  396 
By-products,  178,  219 

Cabinet,  the  President's,  147,  454; 
the  Enghsh,  461 

Cahfomia,  26,  27,  201,  213,  216,  235, 
236,  260,  303,  304,  410,  415)  441; 
University  of,  201 

Canada,  47,  241 

Canals,  259,  268 

Candidates,  388,  389,  390,  391,  392, 
399  >  408 

Capital,  130,  166,  181,  184,  370,  377; 
the  national,  78,  114;  the  state,  64 

Capitation  tax,  372 

Carelessness,  237 

Carey  Act,  215 

Carnegie  Endowment  for  Inter- 
national Peace,  91 

Caucus,  399 

Census,  116,  141,  373;   Bureau,  323 

Center,  community,  303,  304;  in- 
dustrial, 112,  133;  of  population, 
126;   trade,  61-63 

Chancery  courts,  440 

Charities,  boards  of,  355;  depart- 
ments of,  355 

Charity,  353-355  ;  organisation,  355 

Charters,  colonial,  419;  city,  415; 
county,  415 

Checks  and  balances,  449,  450,  460, 
462 

Chemistry,  Bureau  of,  153 

Chicago,  114,  235,  282 

Childhood,  126,  166 

Children,  124,  129 

Children's  Bureau,  no,  323 

China,  159 

Choice,  of  enjoyment,  170;  in  spend- 
ing,   168-172;    of   vocation,    125, 

134-139 
Cholera,  323 


INDEX 


493 


Christian  County,  Ky.,  31,  60,  258 

Church,  4,  24,  346,  354,  395;  and 
State,  345 ;   Peace  Union,  91 

Churches,  117,  338 

Circuit  Courts,  440 ;  of  appeals,  473 

Cities,  28,  42,  58,  96,  100,  102,  105, 
113,  114,  120,  167,  177,  207,  208, 
211,  237,  238,  240,  257,  258,  276, 
330,  343,  379,  407,  415,  416,  417, 
419 

Citizen,  53,  54,  56,  67,  118,  120,  128, 
205,  407,  410,  470,  471 

Citizens,  9,  54,  112,  132,  208,  382 

Citizenship,  42,  53-57,  64,  117,  120, 
121,  123,  166,  298,  329,  362 

Citizenship  League,  School,  91 

City,  2,  IS,  35,  44,  59,  64,  loi,  311- 
316,  368,  416;  government,  44, 
417;  city  manager  plan,  417; 
planning,  114 

Civil  law,  406,  437 

Civil  service,  457,  458,  459;  Com- 
mission, 457,  458 

Civil  War,  117,  248,  252 

Civilization,  190,  191 

Claims,  courts  of,  440,  473 

Cleanliness,  12 

Clothing,  thrift  in,  170 

Clubs,  32,  33,  35,  107,  108,  150,  152, 
154,  184,  185,  187,  210,  226,  228, 
302,  338,  412 

Coal,  conservation  of,  219 

Colleges,  77,  287;  agricultural,  107, 
108,  144,  147,  148,  152,  225,  306, 

307 

Colonies,  364,  419,  422,  443 

Colonists,  88,  89,  244,  379,  395,  404; 
Mormon,  214 

Colonization,  191 

Colorado,  213;   River,  216 

Commerce,  259,  262,  269;  chambers 
of,  160;  U.  S.  Department  of, 
no,  158,  456;  interstate,  156, 
266,  322,  448,  449,  451 ;  Commis- 
sion, 266,  267 


Commissioners,  county,  405,  408 

Committees,  legislative,  43 1-434, 4^5, 
466 

Commons,  House  of,  461,  467,  468, 
470 

Communication,  15,  89,  104,  151, 
272-284 

Communities,  agricultural,  29 ; 
growth  of,  67 ;  imperfect,  2 ; 
interdependence  of,  59 ;  large  and 
small,  58;  membership  in,  53- 
57;   rural,  2,  144;   state,  443 

Community,  the  home  a,  98;  the 
state,  58,  64 ;  the  national,  58, 
64,  65,  67-85;  the  world,  58, 
86-97;  growth,  99,  100 ;  planning, 
113,  114;  spirit,  114;  stability, 
116;  pioneer,  15;  center,  296, 
303,  304,  316,  338;  kitchen,  179; 
meetings,  256,  402 ;  organization, 
401-403 

Community  life,  i-io,  12-23,  24-39, 
58-66,  67,  129,  133,  190,  256; 
community  clubs,  32 

Companionship,  3,  335 

Compensation  for  service,  329 ;  un- 
fair, 129 

Compromises  of  the  Constitution,  463 

Concerts,  338 

Confederation,  Articles  of,  443,  444 

Conflicts  of  interest,  21,  60,  67,  71,  72, 
86 

Congress,  82,  112,  146,  147,  153,  156, 
158,  186,  197,  198,  200,  204,  206, 
213,  215,  220,  235,  259,  264,  266, 
268,  274,  279,  281,  299,  322,  345, 
372,  373,  381,  391,  443,  450,  451, 
452,  454,  458,  460,  462-467 

Congressional  districts,  208 

Congressional  Library,  457 

Connecticut,  225,  428 

Conscription,  80 

Conservation,  health,  168,  315,322; 
natural  resources,  210-230;  Com- 
mission, 225 


494 


INDEX 


Consolidation,  church,  346  ;  school, 
62, 294-296,  298,  315,  332 

Constable,  240,  396,  403 

Constabulary,  242 

Constitution,  73,  244,  245,  259; 
state,  10,  245,  305,  345,  379,  380, 
381,  385,  419,  420,  423,  424,  437, 
446,  465 ;  of  the  United  States, 
10,  49,  51,  56,  156,  197,  207,  235, 
244,  245,  246,  274,  276,  279,  281, 
322,  345,  359,  372,  373,  379,  380, 
381,  383,  385,  419,420,  439,  443- 
444,  446,  447,  448,  449,  45°,  45i» 
452,  453,  454,  460,  462,  463,  472, 
473        _ 

Construction  of  the  Constitution,  451 

Consular  service,  92 

Consumer,  83 

Control,  popular,  49,  378,  380,  386, 
389,  401,  425,  432,  444,  449,  450, 
460;   state,  413 

Convenience,  114 

Conventions,  constitutional,  380,  419, 
444,  462  ;   nominating,  390,  391 

Convict  labor,  263 

Cooperation,  24-39,  4o~S2,  58,  67, 
68,  80,  90,  95,  106,  107,  129,  141— 
164,  182,  226,  233,  234,  238,  256, 
257,  263,  316,  320,  336,  353,  365, 
400,  401,  415,  443,  444 

Cooperative  associations,  29,  106, 
107,   239;    national  organizations, 

35-37 
Copyrights,  449 
Copyright  office,  457 
Coroner,  407 
Corporations,  368 
Council  of  National  Defense,  81 
Council,  village  and  town,  416 
Counties,  259,  280,  352,  379,  419 
County,  30-33,  35,  60,  63,  64,  193, 

208,  240,  248,  292,  365,  368,  395; 

as    administrative    division,    413; 

agent,  31,  32,  148,  152,  160;  clerk, 

406;    clubs,  412;    commissioners, 


262;  court,  439;  government, 
404-415,  423;  infirmary,  352; 
judge,  413;  school  organization, 
293,  294;   seat,  32,  260 

Courthouse,  207,  338 

Courts,  204,  241,  246,  278,  360,  361, 
449,  450;  of  arbitration,  92; 
county,  406,  413,  439;  federal, 
472,473;  justices',  416;  juvenile, 
362;     state,    437-441;     supreme, 

451,  452 
Covenant  of  the  League  of  Nations, 

94 
Creameries,  cooperative,  106,  107 
Credit,   151,   167,   182-184;    unions, 

182,  183 
Crime,  113,  358-362,  383,  -438 
Criminal  cases,  406,  437,  439;    law, 

437 
Criminals,  358-362 
Critical  period,  the,  443 
Crops,  126 

Crop  Estimates,  Bureau  of,  155 
Crusoe,  Robinson,  14 
Cuba,  323 

Cumberland,  Md.,  259;   Road,  259 
Custom,  46,  47,  48 
Customs,  89;    houses,  372;    appeals, 

court  of,  473 
Czar,  345 

Dane  County,  Wis.,  60-64 

Dairy  conditions,  318,  319,  321 

Dead  letters,  280 

Death  rate,  311,  313,  314,  318 

Declaration  of  Independence,  9,  10, 

49,  88,  89 
Deeds,  193  ;   recorder  of,  193,  407 
Defectives,    350,    351 ;    schools   for, 

306 
Defense,    national,    82,     187,    309; 

councils     of,     160;      Council     of 

National,  81,  457 
Delaware,  294 
Delinquents,  350,  358-363 


INDEX 


495 


Democracy,  9,  49,  50,  51,  67,  82,  83, 
89,  106,  167,  201,  277,  278,  286, 
287,  298,  345,  364,  370,  371,  378, 
380,  381,  384,  388,  389,  400,  463 

Demonstration,  108,  148,  150,  152, 
153,  154,  201 

Denver,  235 

Dependence,  12-23,  124,  126,  129 

Dependency,  causes  of,  356 

Dependents,  176,  350-363 

Des  Moines,  la.,  177 

Despotism,  387,  388         % 

Diplomatic  service,  92 

Discoveries,  scientific,  4 

Disease,  231,  317-320,  350 

Diseases,  animal,  143,  152,  156; 
plant,  143,  152,  153,  156;  indus- 
trial, 356 

Dissipation,  334,  335,  337,  338,  351 

District  attorney,  406,  439 

District  of  Columbia,  473 

District  courts,  439,  440,  473 

Districts,  congressional,  208,  392, 
463;  election,  428;  health,  324; 
irrigation,  216;  judicial,  208,  413; 
legislative,  208;  ranger,  221; 
revenue,  208;  road,  264;  school, 
208 

Domestic  science,  300 

Draft,  selective,  80,  81,  366 

Drudgery,  104,  106,  159,  335 

Duties,  55,  143,  372 

Duty  of  thrift,  128,  167 

Earning  a  living,  123-140,  190,  191; 
money,  5,  8;   thrift  in,  168 

Economics,  home,  107,  148;  science 
of,  131 

Education,  ss,  40,  41,  61,  72,  89, 
99,  100,  loi,  102,  119,  143,  153, 
158,  170,  187,  205,  286-307,  310- 
316,  329,  341,  351,  358,  377,  378, 
400,  411;  and  the  church,  347; 
national  aid  for,  300;  physical, 
298,   299;    money  value  of,   137, 


139 ;     state   department   of,    305, 
306;    U.  S.  Bureau  of,  no,  294, 
305,    307,    323;     U.    S.    Commis- 
sioner of,  300,  307 
Efficiency,  167,  286 ;  U.  S.  Bureau  of, 

457 
Egypt,  273 

Elections,  386 ;  primary,  390 
Electors,  453 
Ellis  Island,  69 

Emergency  Fleet  Corporation,  269 
Eminent  domain,  207,  256 
Employees,  78 
Employers,  71,  72,  76,  78 
Employers'  liability  laws,  357 
Employment,  133,  134,  159;  bureaus, 

133;   service,  133,  159-161 
Engineering,  office  of  rural,  155,  322 
Engineers,  191,  262,  264 
England,  47,   88,   89,   94,   112,   113, 

364,  404,  449,  461 
Entomology,  bureau  of,  154,  322 
Equality,  9,  49,  136,  167,  329 
Equalization,   tax,  370;    boards  of, 

368 
Equity,  441 ;  courts  of,  440 
Erosion,  226-228 
Errors,  court  of,  440 
Europe,  69,  87,  90,  153,  165 
European  countries,  113 
Excess  profits,  374 
Excise  taxes,  372 
Executive,    449,    452-462;     control 

by  Congress,  466-468;    branch  of 

government,    420,    421-427,    435, 

468,  469 ;    departments,  147,  435, 

4547457 
Experiment  stations,  144,   147,  153, 

225,  307 
Explorers,  153,  157,  191,  192 
Express  companies,  266 
Extension  courses,  107,  144,  148,  263 

Factories,  17,  71 
Fair,  county,  i 


496 


INDEX 


Families,  3,  58,  94 

Family,  i,  5,  14,  21,  53,  62,  loi,  167, 
176,  205,  292,  309,  350;  of  na- 
tions, 88 

Farewell  Address,  Washington's,  86, 

87,  385 
Farm  bureau,  30,  31,  412;    council, 

37;   executive  committee,  34 
Farm  life,  104 
Farm  Loan  Act,  183 
Farm  Management,   Office  of,    151, 

152 

Farmer,  the,  ability  of,  211;  de- 
pendence of,  15,  16,  126;  inde- 
pendence of,  12,  14,  15;  pioneer, 
126;  service  of,  191 

Farmers,  64,  65,  74,  78;  isolation 
of,  29 ;  neighborhood  community 
of>  58,  59;    President's  appeal  to, 

132,  133 

Farmers'  organizations,  35-37 

Farming,  business  of,  16,  loi,  102, 
117;  dry,  199;  improvements  in 
methods  of,  15 

Farmstead  planning,  114 

Federal  Aid  Road  Act,  264 

Federal  Farm  Loan  Act,  183 ;  Farm 
Loan  Board,  183 

Fee  system,  410 

Feeble-minded,  359,  361 

Fertility,  conservation  of,  211 

Finance  committee,  town,  399,  400; 
department,  436 

Fines,  359 

Finnish  farmers,  167 

Fire,  danger  from,  113;  depart- 
ments, 42 ;  insurance,  239 ;  loss 
from,  220,  231,  232;  marshal, 
416;  protection,  41,  42,  207,  222, 
223,  237-239,  243,  415;  protective 
associations,  226 

Fishing,  141 

Flag,  American,  73;  loyalty  to,  71; 
service,  72 

Flies,  319 


Floods,  218,  219,  220,  231,  238,  240; 

protection  against,  234-236 
Florida,  236 

Food,  59,  64,   74,  76,  82,   127,   128, 
141,    170,   318,   319;     administra- 
tion,  82,   83,   176,  457;    adminis- 
trator, 82  ;  and  drugs  act,  156,  322 
Foreign  population,  69,  70,  399 
Foreigners,  73,  274 
Forest,     17;     industries,     141;     re- 
serves, 220-226;  service,  155,  221, 
222  , 

Forester,  chief,  221 ;   state,  225 
Foresters,  Society  of  American,  226 
Forestry,  222;   departments,  225 
Forestry  Association,  American,  226 
Forests,    destruction    of,    220;     na- 
tional,  220-226,   263,   264;    state, 
225,  226 
France,  81,  94,  176,  210,  222 
Franklin,  Benjamin,  42,  43,  279,  365, 

366,  443 
Fraud,  354;   land,  205,  206 
Fredericksburg,   Va.,   248,    250,   253, 

257 

Freedom,  44,  47,  72,  73,  80,  94,  95, 
136,  138,  167,  278,  376,  378;  of 
religion,  72,  244 

Free  press,  276,  278 

Free  speech,  72,  244,  276,  278 

Freight,  259,  263 

French-American  Correspondence, 
Bureau  of,  91 

Fruit  growers'  associations,  26,  27, 
40,  107' 

Fuel,  74,  82,  128,  219;  administra- 
tion, 457 

Game  preserve,  1 54 
Games,  339 
Garbage,  176,  319 
Gardening,  302 
Garfield,  President,  458 
Georgia,  127 
German  population,  70 


INDEX 


497 


Germany,  68,  87,  89,  94,  132,  136, 
208,  210,  211,  219,  24s,  286,  357, 
378,  461 

Gerrymander,  429 

Gettysburg  Address,  Lincoln's,  7 

Girls,  \'ocations  for,  125 

Government,  why  we  have,  40-52; 
organization  of,  376-474;  city, 
417;  county,  404-415;  township, 
395-404;  village  and  town,  416; 
local,  395-418;  state,  419-442; 
national,  443-474;  international, 
93-96;  English,  461;  Revolu- 
tionary, 443.  (The  activities,  and 
to  some  extent  the  organization, 
of  local,  state,  and  national  gov- 
ernment are  treated  in  each  chapter 
in  relation  to  the  topic  under 
discussion.) 

Government  Printing  Office,  457 

Governor,  421-423,  434 

Graft,  366 

Grafter,  135 

Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  130 

Grand  Valley  irrigation  project,  221 

Great  Britain,  80,  219 

Greece,  153 

Greeks,  70 

Guatemala,  88 

Habit,  of  cooperation,  37 

Habits,  89 

Hague,  The,  92;   tribunal,  92 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  451 

Happiness,   8,   9,   67,    72,    102,    106, 

135,  159.  3o6>  329,  336 

Hawaii,  194 

Health,  2,  12,  18,  19,  42,  43,  99,  loi, 
102,  112,  113,  156,  158,  167,  168, 
299,  309-327,  329,  347,  357,  361, 
364,  377,  400,  411,  413;  board 
of,  315,  396;  commissioner  of, 
323 ;  officer,  407 ;  state  depart- 
ment of,  323,  324 

Health  Service,  Public,  no 


Hearings,  433,  436 

Hebrew  population,  70 

Herdsman,  191 

Hieroglyphics,  272 

High  schools,  60,  61,  62,  63,  297, 
300,  301,  302,  377 

Highway  commission,  state,  262 ; 
commissioner,  250,  262 ;  depart- 
ments, 260,  261,  264,  265 ;    signs, 

45 
Highways,   63,    259,    260,    261,   368, 

377     {See  Roads) 
Hog  Island,  76 
Holland,  92 
Home,  the,  62,  76,  96,  98-122,  125, 

148,  166,  180,  283,  302,  316 
Home  economics,  107,  148 
Home  rule,  415 
Homes,    72,     165,     168,     199,     223; 

institutional,  353 
Homestead,  pioneer,  16;    acts,  198- 

200,  206,  223 
Homesteader,   205,   213;    protection 

of,  203 
Homesteads,  203,  215 
Honesty,   167;    public  and  private, 

370 
Hookworm  disease,  320 
Hoover,  Herbert,  82 
Hospitals,  353,  354,  361 
Housekeeping,  community,  188 
Houses,  legislative,  427 
Housing,  76,  112,  113;  laws,  343,  40c 
Humanity,  86,  88 
Hunter,  191 

Idaho,  207,  213,  223 

Ideals,  67,  68,  72,  83,  89,  96,  287 

Idlers,  133 

Illinois,  59,  259,  392,  415,  423,  426, 

435,  436;   University  of,  142 
Illiteracy,  273,  274,  356 
Illiterates,  70,  383 
Immigrants,  69 
Impeachment,  452 


498 


INDEX 


Imperial  Valley,  Cal.,  216 

Imports,  372 

Incomes,  367 

Income  taxes,  372,  373 

Incorporation,  416 

Independence,  419;    economic,  124; 

price  of,  14;  Declaration  of,  9,  10, 

49 ;   War  of,  73,  443 
Independent  Workers  of  the  World, 

387 
India,  153 

Indian  Affairs,  Office  of,  no 
Indiana,  12,  13,  127,  187,  225,  295, 

296,  303,319,  423 

Indianapolis,  14 

Indians,  69,  191,  273,  449 

Indictment,  439 

Indoor  relief,  353,  354 

Industrial  centers,  112,  133;  con- 
ference, 75,  93  ;  differences,  75  ; 
diseases  and  accidents,  356;  effi- 
ciency and  home  life,  76;  life, 
274 

Industries,  17,  141 

Industry,  70,  71,  81,  112,  128,  134, 
218,  309;  bureau  of  animal,  152; 
bureau  of  plant,  152,  153 

Inefficiency,  435,  471 

Inequalities,  9 

Inheritance,  129,  367;   tax,  374 

Initiative,   161,  376,  377,  380,  391, 

401,  434 
Insane,  352 
Insects,  154,  237 
Institutes,  farmers',  144 
Insurance,  151,  187,  239;  social,  357 
Insurance    companies,    cooperative, 

239 

Interdependence,  12-23,  46,  59,  64, 
68,  74,  77,  86,  87,  129,  266 

Interest,  on  money,  130,  172;  busi- 
ness, 387;  common,  2,  28,  59,  63, 
67,  72,  88,  90,  92,  95,  129,  376; 
conflicts  of,  21,  86;  self-seeking, 
88,  432 


Interior,  Department  of,  no,  158, 
196,  204,  213,  323,  456;  Secretary 
of,  9,  200,  201 

Internal  improvements,  259,  451 

Interstate  Commerce  Commission, 
266,  267,  457 

Inventions,  4,  76 

Inventors,  74 

Investing,  168,  170 

Investment,  166,  180-188,  203,  205, 

231 

Iowa,  295,  296;   State  College,  114 
Irrigation,  199,  200,  213-217,  218 
Isolation,  16,  29 
Italians,  70 
Italy,  94 

Jackson,  President,  457 

Jail,  359,  361,  406 

Japan,  94, 153 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  50,  146,  195,  411, 

451 

Job,  168 

Judges,  246,  441 

Judgments,  hasty,  22 

Judicial  branch,  420,  437-441 ;  dis- 
tricts, 208,  413 

Judiciary,  national,  472,  473 

Jury, 246, 439,  440 ;  grand, 439 

Justice,  95,  96,  136,  138,  241,  246; 
in  taxation,  366;  administration 
of,  420;  chief,  452,  473;  depart- 
ment of,  456 ;   of  the  peace,  416 

Justices,  associate,  473 ;  courts,  438, 
439 ;   of  the  peace,  396,  403,  438 

Juvenile  court,  362,  440;  offenders, 
362 

Kansas,  203,  213 

Kentucky,  31,  60,  258 

Keokuk,  la.,  229 

King    of    England,    419,    422,    443, 

449 
Knowledge,    want    for,    3,    4;     im- 
portance of,  22;  scientific,  76 


INDEX 


499 


Labor,  117,  127,  158-161,  335,  336, 
388;  adjustment  boards,  72;  de- 
partment of,  no,  133,  159,  160, 
323,  456;  -saving  devices,  103- 
106,  108,  336 ;  unions,  160,  334 

Laboratories,  162 

Land,  99 ;  the  people  and  the,  190- 
209;  banks.  Federal,  183;  laws, 
203,  205;  policy  of  the  govern- 
ment, 202,  203  ;  political  relations 
with  the,  208;  settlement  act  of 
California,  201 ;  survey  of  the, 
194-196;  value  of  the,  18,  114, 
126,  203,  252,  256,  365 

Land  Ofl&ce,  General,  no,  196,  204, 
205 ;  Commissioner  of  the,  200, 
202,  204 

Lands,  deforested,  201,  211;  desert, 
199,  211,  212;  idle,  211,  212; 
public,  147,  158,  196,  197-206,  213, 
259,  263,  26s,  266,  306,  387,  403 ; 
reclaimed,  100,  213-217;  school, 
205,  213;  swamp,  200,  201,  211, 
216;  timber,  204 

Lane,  Franklin  K.,  9,  13,  68,  274 

Language,  78,  89,  272-274,  286; 
languages,  69 

Laundries,  cooperative,  106,  107 

Law,  45,  47,  48,  241,  244,  358;  civil, 
437 ;.  criminal,  437 ;  due  process 
of,  245,  246,  440;  fundamental, 
379 ;  international,  92  ;  supreme, 
419 

Lawlessness,  241 

Law-making,  49,  380,  427  {see  Legis- 
lation) 

Laws,  45,  46,  64,  113,  133,  143,  147, 
156,  198,  203,  205,  206,  215,  216, 
240,  287,  288,  357,  379,  396,  420, 

443 
Leaders,  277;  education  of ,  286 
Leadership,  8,  26,  28,  29,  30,  31,  33, 
40,  163,  233,  286,  287,  330,  331, 
339,  345,  353,  378,  387,  388,  399, 
400,  401,  425 ;  diffused,  466 ;   con- 


trol over,  460-464;    irresponsible, 
462 ;     responsible,   388,   423,   426, 
459-462;     responsive,    426,    459- 
462 
League  to  Enforce  Peace,  91 
League  of  Nations,  94-96,  277 
Lectures,  338 

Legislation,  387,  430,  431-436,  465 
Legislative    branch,    420,    427-436; 
districts,  208;    reference  libraries, 

431 
Legislature,  143,  380,  391,  422,  423, 

424,  427-436,  449,  453 
Leisure,  16,  105,  159,  333,  334,  335, 

336,  337 
Levees,  219,  235 
Libel,  278 

Liberties,  245,  246,  447 
Liberty,  67,  88,  89,  94,  106,  345,  364, 

365,  378;  bonds,  187,  374 
Libraries,  338;    legislative  reference, 

431 
Library,  public,  35,  38 ;  traveling,  38, 

41 
Library  of  Congress,  457 
Licenses,  156,  263 
License  taxes,  367 
Lieutenant-governor,  423,  432 
Life,  2,  72 

Lighting,  100,  114,  400 
Lincoln  Memorial,  The,  7 
Lincoln's  Gettysburg  Address,  7 
Living,    earning    a,    5,    6,    123-140, 

198;  cost  of,  152:  business  of,  165, 

167 
Livelihood,  124 
Loan  associations,  farm,  183 
Loans,  government,  374 
Lobby,  433 
Local  government,  44,  51,  65,  395- 

418;  local  officers,  424 
London, 114 
Louisiana,  234,  405 
Loyalty,  67,  70,  71,  96,  120 
Lynching,  241 


500 


INDEX 


Machinery,  15,  17,  74,  104,  105,  106, 
126,  181;   age  of,  191;   governing, 

41 
Madison,  Wis.,  60,  62,  63,  64,  306 
Mail,  rural,  158,  275,  276,  279-282 
Maine,  380 

Majority,  384,  386,  391,  432,  450 
Malaria,  18,  19,  154,  3^9 
Management,  good,  165,  167;   ofl&ce 

of  farm,  151,  152;   thrift  in,  174 
Manager,     busmess,     27;     city    or 

town,  417 
Mankind,  87,  88 
Manners,  46,  47,  95 
Man-power,  national,  81 
Manufactures,  112 
Manufacturing,  128,  141 
Marketing,  256,  268 
Markets,   26,   27,   59,   74,   118,   158, 

265,  365 
Markets    and    Rural    Organization, 

Office  of,  151 
Maryland,   225,   226,   259,  261,   288, 

380 
Massachusetts,    17,    183,    196,    224, 

225,  261,  288,  324,  379,  401,  427, 

441 
Mayor,  59,  416 
Mechanics,  74 
Mediation   and   Conciliation,   Board 

of,  457 

Medical  inspection,  315 

Members,  53,  68,  70,  98,  99 

Membership,  53-57,  86 

Merchant  marine,  75,  269,  270 

Merchant  of  Venice,  89 

Meridians,  principal,  195 

Merit  system,  459 

Messages,  governors',  422;  Presi- 
dent's, 460 

Metals,  128,  191 

Mexico,  153 

Michigan,  107,  127,  225,  380,  416; 
agricultural  college  of,  63,  143 ; 
University  of,  63 


Militia,  245,  421 

Mill,  John  Stuart,  467 

Miner,  191 

Mineral  resources,  228 

Mines,  17,  71 ;  Bureau  of,  323 

Mining,  128,  141 

Minnesota,  126,  218,  223,  225,  422 

Minorities,  391,  392 

Minority,  384,  386,  433 

Mississippi,    234,    253,   320;     River, 

197,   218,   229,   234,   235 ;    Valley, 

116,  191,  219,  231,  234 
Money,  17,  125,  158,  280;  borrowing, 

374;  coinage  of,  449;  earning,  5,  8, 

124,  139,  168;  orders,  280;  saving, 

176 
Monopoly,  205 
Monroe  Doctrine,  87;   President,  87, 

94 
Montana,  127,  213;    National  Bison 

Range,  154 
Mormon  colonists,  214 
Mortgage,  168,  193 
Mosquitoes,  18,  19,  319 
Moving  pictures,  316,  337 
Municipal  court,  440 

Nashville,  Tenn.,  91 

Nation,  i,  58,  67-85,  146,  259,  379; 
government  of,  443-473 

National  boundaries,  208;  com- 
munity, 64,  65,  67-85;  forests, 
263;  government,  31,  44,  51,  306, 
307,  443-473;  guard,  73;  health, 
322,  323;  interest,  259;  Ufe,  87; 
museum,  457;  progress,  77;  pur- 
pose, 9,  72  ;  spirit,  68,  73 ;  strength, 

77 
Nationalities,  69,  70 
Nationality,  93,  95 
Natural  resources,  75,  210-229 
Naturalization,  55-57,  383,  449 
Navy,  245 ;    Department  of  the,  75, 

456 ;   Secretary  of  the,  282 
Nebraska,  203,  2.13 


INDEX 


501 


Negroes,  69,  117,  118 
Neighborhood,  35, 58, 59,  61, 62, 64, 99 
Neighbors,  17,  18,  24,  87,  94-96 
Nevada,  213 

New  England,  14,  40,  48,  116,  117, 
127,  167,  201,  218,  259,  292,  294, 

343,  345,  352,  379,  381,  395,  396, 
398,  401,  403,  407,  411,  412,  413 
New  Hampshire,  225,  226,  441 
New  Jersey,  225,  260,  261,  262,  294, 

383 
New  Mexico,  213 
New  Orleans,  235 
New  York  City,  70,  114,  172,  176, 

279,    281,    282,   312,   314;     State, 

127,  218,  225,  261,  288,  305,  324, 

404,  405 
Newspaper,  4,  160,  282 
Newspapers,  69,  275,  276,  277,  278, 

316 
Niagara  FaUs,  218 
Nomination,  390 
North  Carolina,  225,  226,  283,  319, 

325,326,408,412,413,421;   Club, 

412;  University  of,  412 
North  Dakota,  126,  213 
Northwest  Territory,  306 
Nurses,  visiting,  315 

Obedience,  121 

Occupations,   5,  6,   15,   17,   78,   102, 

124,  127,  128,  134,  136,  141,  299; 

representation  by,  392,  393 
Office,  holding,  57,  208 
Officials,  public,  134 ;  state,  142,  143, 

205 
Ohio,  127,  210,  225,  234,  262,  380 
Oklahoma,  213,  257 
Opportunity,       educational,        288 ; 

equality  of,  9,   10,  49,   105,   106, 

136,  167,  329 
Ordinance  of  1787,  306 
Ordinances,  416 
Oregon,  213,  441:   University  of,  13, 

192 


Organization,  26-38,  40-53,  58,  79" 

80, 92-94,  142-163,  376-473 
Organizations,  28,  29,  35-37,  78,  160 
Outdoor  relief,  353 
Overseers  of  the  poor,  396 
Ownership,  home,  116;   right  of,  193 

Pacific  Coast,  191 

Pan-American,  Building,  91;   Union, 

92 
Panama,   282 ;    Canal,  457 ;    Canal 

Zone,  280,  323 
Parcel  post,  16,  158,  280 
Pardon,  421 
Pardons,  board  of,  421 
Paris,  277,  282 
Parish,  405 

Parks,  loi,  114,  242,  400 
Parliament,  461 
Parole,  362 
Parties,    political,    385-387 ;     labor, 

393 
Partisan  influences,  429,  432,  450 
Partners,  88 

Partnership,  democracy  a,  82 
Party,  political,  424,  450 ;  machinery, 

453;    spirit  of,  385,  450;    system, 

386 ;  Greenback,  393 
Patent  medicines,  323 
Patents,  449 

Patriotism,  95,  96,  139,  166 
Pauperism,  354 
Pavements,  365 
Peace,   70,   73,   77,  80,  83,  89,   133; 

conference,    94,    277;    congresses, 

91 ;  world,  91 
Penalties,  358,  359 
Penitentiaries,  361 

Pennsylvania,  225,  241,  405,  423,  425 
Pensions,  357 
Persia,  153 
Petition,  380 
Philadelphia,  42,  43,  114,  279,  282, 

444 
Philippines,  194,  280,  323 


502 


INDEX 


Physical  wants,  2 ;  well-being,  2,72, 

298,  299;    defects,  128,  298,  299, 

309-312;  fitness,  168 
Pioneer,  the,  12-18;   life,  24,  34,  40, 

59,  99,  126 
Pittsburgh,  70,  121 
Planning,    city,     114;     community, 

113,    343»    344;     fannstead,    114; 

town,  400 
Plant  Industry,  Bureau  of,  152,  153 
Play,  loi,  123,  330-332,  339 
Playgrounds,  loi,  330,  331,  332,  400 
Pledge  of  allegiance,  54,  55 
Plutocracy,  387 
Pohce,  42,  240;   private,  241;   state, 

241;    court,   440;    marshal,   416; 

power,  207 ;  protection,  415 
Policeman,.  44,  45 
Politicians,  387 
PoUs,  380,  390 
Poll  tax,  367 
Poor,  care  of  the,  403,  405;    farm, 

352;    relief,  351,  352;    overseer  of 

the,  355,  396 
Population,  141 ;    racial  elements  of, 

69,  70;  centers  of,  126 
Portland,  Ore.,  235 
Porto  Rico,  323 
Ports  of  entry,  372 
Possessions,  72 
Post,  parcel,  16,  158 
Postage,  280 
Post  Office  Department,   158,    280, 

282,  456 
Post  offices,  160,  207,  259,  279,  280, 

449 
Post  roads,  259,  264,  279,  281,  449 
Postal    savings    system,    186,    280; 

service,  279-282 
Postmaster  General,  279 
Poverty,  359 

Power,  police,  207 ;  sites,  204 
Powers,    delegated,    447,    448;     ex- 
press,   454;     implied,    451,    454; 
scope     of     national,     448,     449; 


separation  of,  420,  449;    of  state 
departments   of   agriculture,    143, 
144;     of    U.    S.    Department    of 
Agriculture,  147,  155,  156 
Preamble  of  the  Constitution,  49,  51, 

379 
Precinct,  208 
Preemption  of  land,  198 
President,  the,  82,  88,  89,  94,   132, 

133,  220,  235,  267,  282,  391,  423, 

444,  450,  452-454,  457,  458,  460- 

464,  470,  472,  473 
Press,  free,  72 
Prices,  174 
Primary,   direct,   390;    preferential, 

391 

Prime  minister,  88,  461 

Printing,  275,  276 

Prisons,  359 

Probate  courts,  440 

Probation,  362  ;  officer,  362 

Producer,  83 

Production  of  wealth,  123,  131,  132, 
210,  211 

Profits,  129,  130,  135,  181 

Progress,  national,  77 

Prohibition,  277,  356,  372 

Propaganda,  277,  278 

Property,  5,  18,  114,  119,  124,  198, 
364,  407;  destruction  of,  231- 
247 ;  personal,  367  ;  public,  242 ; 
protection  of ,  207,  231-247;  rights, 
protection  of,  231-247;  tax,  367 

Proportional  representation,  392 

Prosecuting  attorney  (see  District  at- 
torney) 

Prosecutor,  county,  406 

Prospector,  the,  193 

Protection,  fire,  41,  42,  207,  222,  223; 
health,  42-44,  309-327,  357;  of 
interests,  376;  of  property,  207, 
231-247 

Public  buildings,  40,  400,  405;  im- 
provements, 21 ;  information,  com- 
mittee on,  457 ;  instruction,  super- 


INDEX 


503 


intendent  of,  423;  library,  35; 
money,  366;  opinion,  276,  277, 
287,  360,  471 ;  property,  242.  (See 
Education,  Lands,  Officials,  etc.) 

Public  Health  Service,  316,  323 

Public  Roads,  Office  of,  263,  264 

Publicity,  277 

Punishment,  358,  438 

Purposes,  common,  i-io,  24,  58,  68, 
71,  72,  73,  86,  89;  of  democracy, 
9;  our  national,  9,  51,  77,  78,  83, 
104;  world,  88,  89 

Quarantine,  143,  155,  156,  323 
Quick,  Herbert,  301 

Race,  89 

Races,  69 

Racial  elements  of  population,  78 

Radio-communication,  282 

Railroad    administration,    267,    282 ; 

lands,  203,  204 
Railroads,  63,  71,  74,  80,  160,  184, 

191,  203,  207,  259,  265-268,  377; 

director-general  of,  267,  457 
Railways,  street,  172 
Randolph    County,    Ind.,    187,    295, 

296,  303 
Range  lines,  195 

Rangers,  forest,  221 ;  Texas,  241 
Rate,  tax,  368,  370,  373 
Raw  materials,  74 
Real  estate,  367 
Recall,  391,  441 
Reclamation,  100,  115,  158,  200,  201, 

213-217 
Reclamation  Act,  213,  216;   Service, 

no,  200,  213,  214 
Recreation,    16,    61,    loi,    102,    104, 

107,  159.  329-340,  347,  357,  377; 

centers,  339 
Red    Cross,    i,    90,    95,    161,    165; 

Junior,  90 
Referendum,  380,  391,  434 
Register  of  deeds,  193,  407 


Rehabilitation,  3 5 1,  353,  359 

Reliance,  self,  16 

Religion,  89;    freedom  of,   72,   244; 

a  means  of  control,  346 
Religions,  5 
Religious  differences,  346 ;   life,  345- 

348 ;  qualifications  for  voting,  345  ; 

want,  4,  5,  345-348 
Rent,  176,  181 

Representation,  392,  428,  463 
Representative  government,  403 
Representatives,  379,  380,  381,  385, 

390,  392 
Representatives,  House  of,  146,  392, 

427,  452,  458,  462,  463,  464 
Republican,  form  of  government,  420 ; 

party,  451 
Reserve  Board,  Federal,  457 
Resources,  natural,  75,  158,  191,  201, 

203,  210-230,  387 
Responsibility,    100,    loi,    120,    139, 

426,  469,  470,  471 
Revenue  bills,  463 ;  districts,  208 
Revenues,  469 
Revolution,   American,   88,   89,   197, 

198,  206,  279,  447,  448 
Revolutionary  War,  51,  197,  244 
Rhode  Island,  441 
Right  of  eminent  domain,  207 
Rights,  9,  21,  45,  49,  51,  54,  55,  72, 

73,  88,  89,   206,  330;    of  accused 

persons,  246,  439,  440 ;   bill  of,  10, 

447  ;    constitutional  guarantees  of, 

244,    245;     declaration    of,    420; 

international,    88;     political,    57, 

208;    protection  of  property,  231- 

247 
River  improvements,  235 
Road  Act,  Federal  Aid,  264 
Road  building,   cooperation  in,   42 ; 

districts,  264 
Roads,  21,  34,  62,  64,  117,  118,  207, 

221,  223,  248-265,  272,  281,  343, 

364,  376,  400,  403,  40s,  411,  451; 

office  of  public,  155,  248,  250 


504 


INDEX 


Rockefeller  Foundation,  320;  Sani- 
tary Commission,  325 

Rome,  70 

Roosevelt,  President,  386 

Roosevelt  Dam,  219 

Root,  Elihu,  388 

Rules,  of  conduct,  46;  for  coopera- 
tion, 46;  of  the  game,  330;  of 
legislative  procedure,  434,  465 

Rural  mail  service,  263,  281 ;  or- 
ganization, office  of,  151 

Russia,  153,  210,  392,  393;  church 
of,  345 

Sacramento  Valley,  235 

Sacrifice,  72,  168 

Safety,  44,  45,  70;  devices,  356; 
national,  71,  77;   public,  278 

"Safety  First,"  356 

Saloon,  337,  338 

Salt  Lake  City,  297 

Salt  River,  214;  project,  219 

San  Francisco,  235 

Sanitation,  317,  319,  323 

Saving,  thrift  in,  168,  176-180;  by 
investment,  180-188 

Savings,  72,  165,  174;  banks,  185, 
186;  postal,  280;  societies,  187; 
stamps,  165,  166,  187 

School,  I,  100,  123,  124,  168,  340; 
activities,  30 ;  administration,  292- 
294,  403 ;  attendance,  256,  288- 
291;  bank,  177,  186;  committee, 
40,  396;  consolidation,  62,  256, 
261,  294-296,  315,  339 ;,  citizenship 
league,  91 ;  district,  292  ;  districts, 
60,  61,  63,  20§,  257;  the  family  a, 
120;  Garden  Army,  211,  212; 
high,  60,  125  ;  lands,  295 ;  member- 
ship in,  53 ;  superintendent,  407 

Schoolhouse,  i,  12,  21,  24,  S3j  4°) 
102,  207,  287,  338 

Schools,  59,  64,  74,  77,  loi,  104,  107, 
117,  119,  139,  161,  223,  277,  286, 
29O1  332,  364,  406,  4",  413;  lugt, 


61,  102,  297,  298;    for  defectives, 

353;    normal,  287;    private,  287; 

reform,    361,    362;     special,    361; 

and  health  protection,   314,  315; 

of  vice  and  crime,  360 
Science,  4;  of  economics,  131 
Sciences,  4 
Scientists,  74,  191 
Sections,  of  land,  196 
Selective  draft,  80,  81 
Selectmen,  395,  396 
Self-determination,  136,  167 
Self-goverrmient,  379,  395,  396 
Self-made  men,  22,  126 
Self-reliance,  16 
Self-support,  351,  352 
Senate,  94,  146,  427,  452,  457,  462, 

463,  473 

Senators,  392,  444,  457,  463 

Serbs,  70 

Service,  11,  15,  16,  124,  127,  128,  130, 
138,  141,  146,  167,  168,  185,  364, 
400,  450;  compensation  for,  129; 
responsibility  for,  134;  satisfaction 
in,  135,  329;  organization  for, 
378,  426,  454,  457;  training  for, 
138,  139,  329;  of  the  home,  120, 
121;  army,  national,  132;  of  the 
church,  346,  347 ;  employment, 
133,  159-161 ;  flags,  72;  military, 
80,  81,  139;  states  relations,  148- 
150 

Sewage,  100,  319 

Sewers,  43,  100,  400,  415 

Shakespeare,  89 

Sheriff,  240,  406 

Sherman  Act,  267 

Shipbuilding,  75,  112 

Shipping,  268-270;    board,  75,  269, 

457 
Ships,  74,  268-270 
Shipways,  76 
Shipyards,  71 
Shoes,  17 
Shylock,  89 


INDEX 


505 


Siam,  88 

Siberia,  153 

Sicily,  153 

Signs,  highway,  45 

Slander,  278 

Slavery,  73,  385 

Smith-Hughes  Act,  299,  300 

Smith-Lever  Act,  147,  148 

Smithsonian  Institution,  457 

Social  life,  16,  73,  99,  loi,  102,  119, 
158,  256,  329-340,  377;  interests, 
bi ;  needs,  151;  wants,  3,  329- 
340;  unrest,  387 

Socialism,  378 

SociaHsts,  377,  387 

Soil,  210;  pollution,  320 

Soils,  Bureau  of,  153 

Soldiers,  200,  201 

Solicitor,  county,  439 

South,  the,  117,  127,  292 

South  America,  87,  92,  153,  282 

South  Dakota,  126,  154,  199,  213, 
225,  294 

Sovereignty,  93 

Soviet,  392,  393 

Speaker,  432,  433,  464,  465 

Specialists,  16,  138,  142,  143,  144 

Specialization,  138 

Speculators,  203,  218,  223 

Spending,  168-172 

Spoils  system,  457,  458 

Sports,  2,  3,  339 

Spotsylvania  County,  Va.,  248-251, 
256,  257,  259 

Stability,  community,  120,  191 

Standards,  Bureau  of,  no;  grain, 
143;  grading,  151;  American, 
159;  of  production,  211 

State,  boundaries,  208 ;  communities, 
58,  64 ;  colleges  of  agriculture,  107, 
108,  144;  aid,  261;  departments 
of  agriculture,  142-144;  forests, 
225;  health  control,  322,  323-326; 
highways,  260, 261 ;  government,  31, 
44,  51,  419-442;  institutions,  353 


State,  Department  of,  454 

States,   94,  96,   113,   213,   216,   274, 

281,    379;     New    England,    116; 

Gulf,  116;    Middle  Atlantic,  116; 

Northern,    150;     South    Atlantic, 

116;   Southern,  108,  118,  148,  150; 

thirteen  original,  196,  197,  208 
State's  attorney,  406,  439 
States   Relations    Service,    34,    148- 

150,  152,  179 
Steamship  lines,  265,  266,  281 
Steamships,  259 
Storms,  237 
Street  commissioner,  416;    cleaning, 

42-44,  365,  366 ;  lighting,  59 
Streets,  114,  400,  415 
Strikes,  71 

Submarine  cable,  282 
Suffrage,     381-383;      woman,     277, 

381,  383 
Superintendent  of  schools,  40,   294, 

305_ 
Superior  courts,  440 
Supervisors,  boards  of,  405,  408 
Supreme  court,  373,  440,  451,  452, 

472,  473 
Surrogate  courts,  440 
Surroundings,  attractive,  340-345 
Survey  of  lands,  194-196 
Surveyor,  county,  407 

Taft,  President,  386 

Tariff  Commission,  U.  S.,  457 

Tax,  244 ;  school,  305 ;  assessor, 
396,  403,  407,  416;  collectors, 
396,  406;  dodger,  370;  Hst,  369, 
371;  payers,  22,  381;  rate,  22, 
250,  251 

Taxation,  42,  60,  207,  260,  364-375 

Taxes,  40,  41,  204,  207,  208,  216, 
235,  250,  257,  294,  364-375,  396, 
401,  405,  413,  414,  416,  443 

Teacherage,  302 

Team,  athletic,  24,  45,  55 ;  nation 
as  a,  78,  84 


5o6 


INDEX 


Team  work,  i,  24,  40,  60,  67,  78,  80, 
81,  86,  120,  121,  160,  206,  272, 
273,  286,  314,  330,  336,  346,  355, 
364-375,  376,  38s,  386,  387,  392, 
402,  407,  424,  443,  450 

Telegraph,  80,  87,  282 

Telephone,  19,  34,  80,  160,  238,  282- 
284 

Tenancy,  11 5-1 20 

Tenant,  120 

Tenantry,  152,  205 

Tenants,  116,  117,  118 

Tennessee,  255,  259;    University  of, 

145 
Terms  of  office,  424 
Territory  of  the  United  States,  197; 

Northwest,  306 
Texas,  127,  212,  225,  241,  259 
Textbooks,  305,  306 
Textiles,  74 
Threshing,  24 
Thrift,    16,    128,    165-189,    210-230, 

335,  350 

Thriftlessness,  351,  357 

Title,  abstract  of,  194 

Toll  roads,  259 

Tolls,  252 

Tools,  16,  20,  97,  181 

Torrens  system,  194 

Town,  I,  292,  395,  416;  clerk,  396, 
403;  manager,  417;  meeting,  48, 
201,  345,  379,  381, _  395-399; 
planning,  343 ;  planning  board, 
400 

Towns,  2,  40,  58,  114,  343,  352,  379, 
419 

Township,  60,  61,  63,  64,  96,  195, 
208,  240,  262,  292,  294,  368,  379, 
395-403,  405,  407,  411,  415 

Trade,  61,  141;  areas,  61,  62,  63; 
centers,  15,  63,  265,  415 

Trade  Commission,  Federal,  457 

Traffic,  44,  45 

Training  for  citizenship,  55 ;  neces- 
sity for,  138;  vocational,  139 


Transportation,   15,   17,   26,   27,  61, 

62,  64,  74,  118,  141,  151,  194,  203, 

248-271,  265,  296,  365 
Travel,  89 
Treasurer,  county,  407 ;    state,  423 ; 

town,  396,  403,  416 
Treasury,  public,  435 ;    Department 

of  the,  no,  158,  165,  183,  187,  455 ; 

Secretary  of  the,  469 
Treaties,  92,  94,  461 
Trenton,  N.  J.,  166 
Trustees,  school,  294 ;   township,  403 
Tuberculosis,  31S 
Turnpikes,  259 
Typhoid,  154,  317,  318 

Unemployed,  133 

Union,  the,  58,  64,  419,  444 

Unions,  trade,  28 

Universities,  287,  306 

University,  63,  64;  of  California, 
201 ;  of  Illinois,  142 ;  of  Oregon, 
192;  of  Tennessee,  145;  of  Wis- 
consin, 178;   of  Virginia,  50 

Utah,  213,  214,  297 

Vagrancy,  133,  356 

Valuation,  368,  369 

Value,  18,  124,  126 

Vandalism,  242 

Vandals,  231,  240,  242 

Ventilation,  12,  311,  316,  317 

Vermont,  225 

Versailles,  94 

Veto,  421,  422,  423,  434 

Vice,  113 

Vice-President,  the,  391,  453,  464 

Vigilance  committees,  241 

Village,  59,  64,  337,  395,  416 

Villages,  58,  114,  208,  419 

Virginia,    225,    22.6,    248,    250,    263, 

286,  411 ;  University  of,  50 
Vocation,  choice  of,  125, 134-139, 168, 

301 ;  education  for,  138,  299-301 
Vocational  Education,  Federal  Board 

for,  300,  457 


INDEX 


507 


Vocational  guidance,  161 
Vocations,  124.     (Sec  Occupations) 
Voluntary  organizations,  354,  355 
Vote,  cumulative,  392 
Voters,  294,  385,  386,  387,  390,  391, 

395,  402,  408,  453 
Voting,     57,     208;     machine,    390; 

booth,  390 

Wage,  living,  334;    earners,  71,  167, 

309,  356 

Wages,  80,  129,  13s,  159,  168,  170 

Wants,  common,  1-9,  12-23,  3°)  64, 
89,  99,  123,  124,  127,  138,  168, 
329-340,  340-345,  345-348 

War,  133;  Civil,  117,  248,  252,  381; 
the  great,  i,  19,  51,  68,  69,  71,  72, 
74,  75,  77,  78,  79,  80,  81,  86,  87, 
88,  89,  90,  94,  112,  136,  165,  208, 
222,  245,  267,  277,  286,  287,  351, 
365 ;  Mexican,  198 ;  Revolu- 
tionary, 73,  88,  89,  197,  443; 
powers,  80,  267 ;  risk  insurance, 
188;  savings  stamps,  165,  374; 
taxes,  374;   Spanish-American,  73 

War  Department,  280,  311,  323,  455, 
468 

War  Trade  Board,  457 

Wards,  208,  411 

Warrant,  town,  395,  396-398 

Washington,  D.  C,  78,  79,  87,  90, 
92,  114,  153,  160,  161,  235,  279, 
280,  281,  282 

Washington,  President,  87,  94,  146, 

385,  387,  450,  454 

Washington,  State  of,  213,  217,  223 

Washington's  Farewell  Address,  86, 87 

Waste,  177,  351 

Wastefulness,  176,  178,  179,  211, 
222,  223,  237,  366,  409,  435,  471 

Water,  conservation  of,  218,  219; 
pollution  of,  314;  power,  218, 
222;  supply,  100,  114,  203,  238, 
317,  415;  transportation,  368; 
works,  400 


Wealth,  124,  126,  129,  131,  141,  190, 

228,  377,  388 
Weather    Bureau,     155,     235,     236; 

forecasts,  235 
Weights  and  measures,  449 
Welfare  boards,  355,  356 
Wells,  21 
West,  the,  17,  116,  292;    democracy 

in,  380 ;  woman  suffrage  in,  383 
West  Indies,  282 
West  Virginia,  219 
Wiley,  Dr.  Harvey,  311 
Wilson,  President,  9,  10,  77,  84,  386, 

460 
Wisconsin,  60-64,  188,  216,  225,  262 ; 

University  of,  178 
Woman  suffrage,  381,  383 
Women,  life  of  farm,  104-107 
Woolworth  Building,  171,  172 
Work,  happiness  in,  329 ;  meaning  of, 

136 ;   men  out  of,  133  ;  honest  and 

efficient,  128;  houses,  356;  variety 

in,  340;   the  world's,  166 
Worker,  127,  129 
Workers,    17,    112;     technical,    74; 

housing  for,  76,  114,  121 
Workmen,  72,  112,  133 
Workmen's  compensation  laws,  357 
World,  the  Old,  86;    Peace  Founda- 
tion, 91 
World,      community,      58,      86-97; 

interest,  259 
Wyoming,  154,  213,  383 

Yakima  Reclamation  Project,  217, 
220 

Year  Book,  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture, 31,  108 

Yellowstone  Park,  220 

Young  Men's  Christian  Association, 

338,  339 

Young  Women's  Christian  Associa- 
tion, 338 

Yuma  Irrigation  Project,  214 

Zoological  Park,  National,  457 


This  Ijook  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  helow 


wc  '^  ^  ^^^^ 


4HN  1  7  1982 

Col. Lib. 
DEC  3  Q  i9e| 


Form  L-9-35m-8,'28 


JK 
274 


con. 2  ^.nn   - 


Community  civics 


and  PLiral   life. 


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cop-  2. 


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